Halloween 2012
by 4MeJasper
Summary: Planning to post a series of one-shots about vampire Jasper meeting and claiming human Bella on Halloween. First one seems to have turned into a multi-chapter...now extended to include a Christmas and New Year update to first story.
1. Chapter 1 - Halloween Party, Part 1

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

HALLOWEEN, 2012

Halloween Party – Part 1

Chapter 1 – Party Preparations

Halloween. Standing in the shadow of the overhang at the public library, I tried to fight back the uneasy feelings I had been plagued with all day. Something was close to happening; I could just feel it in my bones. I had a restlessness and a yearning for…I didn't know what. It was just an unsettled feeling that I was not accustomed to.

It had been a gray, overcast day, typical for Forks, Washington. And it didn't help that right now, I was being worked on by Alice.

"C'mon, Bella," whined Alice. "I'm not going to the costume party alone! P-l-l-e-e-a-s-s-e come." My best friend knew how to push all my buttons.

"Alice, you know how I feel not only about parties, but dressing up. Besides, I don't have a costume!"

"Yes, you do!" she replied cheerily, and a bit too quickly. "Wear your costume from the ball scene of 'Phantom of the Opera'."

Yeah, Phantom had been Forks High School's musical this year. Even though we only had a grand total of twenty students in drama club, the drama teacher decided to stage "Phantom of the Opera." Miss Beam was retiring this year, and she obviously wanted to go out with a bang. In order to get enough people on stage for the ball room and other scenes, she recruited volunteers from the city. Turns out lots of the local ladies wanted to wear a ball gown, and they wanted this enough to put their husbands in a tuxedo and mask and bring them too, so they would have a dance partner.

Lauren got the lead role of Christine, and though I got roped into doing a bit of Assistant Producer type duties, I had an onstage role as well. We actually staged the masked ball with the falling chandelier scene. Although it went quite smoothly in rehearsal, during every night of the actual show, somebody got hurt when our supposedly safe prop fell during a climactic scene. And for once, it hadn't been me. I don't know why I felt so smug about that. Maybe my lifelong bad luck streak was about to change.

But just now, as Alice and I were talking, I saw a car come to a sudden stop across the street. The windows were tinted so I couldn't see the driver; I could only see that it was a NICE car. I didn't really know cars, but the sleek lines and spotless paint job meant that one was expensive.

Alice was continuing to chirp out her enthusiasm as the car door was opening. "Oh, it's going to be so great tonight," she almost sang.

"Really, Alice," I said, watching as the driver exited the car across the street, "it'll be too much."

My voice died out as I saw a tall, lanky stranger gracefully extricate himself from the driver side. He had wavy blond hair that fell gracefully to his shoulders, a strong jaw and even features, and was wearing sunglasses…on an overcast day without a hint of sunlight. But the shades were hot. He was hot!

And he was looking at me?

Alice, however, was looking at her watch and missed the whole thing. She kept talking though, a thousand words a minute, barely pausing for breath. Lunch hour was almost over, we both needed to hurry if we were to get back to class on time.

"I can get you into the dress, don't worry," she continued. "Come on; it will be fun!"

"I'm never putting that dress on again. I looked like a cream puff!"

"You looked wonderful. All those ribbons and underskirts, it was amazing. I wish my mother could sew like yours," she sighed. Catching my eye roll, she quickly continued, "But don't worry; I'll get you dressed again. Really, all you have to do is stand there."

"And be laced into something so tight I can't breathe? How did women ever stand to wear those corsets?" I retorted.

"You really do exaggerate," she replied, sighed dramatically.

I watched as the stranger, still across the street, seemed to shake his head and open the car door. As I looked back at Alice, I heard the car start. It slipped off silently. I bit my lip, petulantly. He was gone. Whoever he was, he was too good for this dead-end place.

I sighed. "OK." I relented. "I'll go."

She squealed, saying, "I'll pick you up then."

"The library after school, OK?" I called after her. "I have to finish my paper." As I watched her dash off towards her car, trying to avoid the rain that was just starting to fall, I sighed. I really dreaded putting that costume on again.

But Alice always gets her way, so a few short hours later, I was standing in my room, while Alice pulled all those layers over my head. First the chemise, which was topped by the corset, which Alice laced. Then the first layer of petticoats, which would be covered by the hooped skirt or crinoline, a final petticoat called the Over Petticoat, and at last, the top layer of the dress itself. In the old days, there would have been several more layers of petticoats. The dress Renee had made for this year's Phantom production was draped, and had two shades of blue, with the top layer's darker blue draped and caught with bows at the hip, and the bottom layer pleated below it.

My mother had originally made me the costume for "Beauty and the Beast," in which I had the lead role as Belle the year before. So it had originally been Belle's ball gown, all yellow and frothy, fit for a young ingénue.

This year, for "Phantom," Lauren got the lead of Christine. I was playing Carlotta, the aging star who Christine replaces. As far as my costume, Renee managed to keep most of the undergarments from Belle's gown the year before, as she had left a bit of room in them. She had changed the outer dress slightly, and made it blue. At least now I didn't look like a butter ball. But it still draped, and had ruffles around the bodice and had bows that attached the across the skirt. Totally not me.

I had to admit, though, that it was beautiful, as Renee could sew. She did a little of everything; she just never kept doing any of it. But she made my costumes for all the productions I was in.

She and Charlie thought Drama Club would help me overcome my shyness. Actually, I didn't think I had a problem with shyness. I had friends, but I just didn't feel the need to surround myself with a crowd. While I think Charlie understood this, he was still just so in love with Renee, and wasn't going to argue with her when it came to me.

"I think your mother is right, when it comes to the social things. She always understood those things better than me," he would say gruffly. "I love you like you are, but she wants more for you. Drama can't hurt on college applications either," he would add. He knew he had me there. I would need scholarship assistance of some kind, and the more I could show on my college applications, the better.

So I was put in drama from the third grade onward. Of course, in elementary school, plays were generally class plays, and participation wasn't optional. Over the years, I had been everything, whether animal, fruit or vegetable. I had been a carrot in the Easter Musical in grade school. The bunny parts had gone to the popular girls. I quickly saw how it worked, and decided I just didn't want the hassle. I managed to be an apple in the health presentation for fifth grade. It beat playing one of the germs that always got booed off the stage. That always lead to backstage crying, and parents asking the exasperated teacher why they would subject their child to such trauma. Oh, the drama!

I kept to my minor parts, and watched the game playing and positioning that went on for the other parts. So all the way through middle school, I had always been part of the chorus or one of the minor casts.

Then I got bored, and started going after the other parts. Why not? If I was going to be on stage for all those hours, and going to have to wear make-up and costumes, why not be one of the leads? It meant more to do, that would break the tedium of hours of rehearsals and performances.

During my freshman year of high school, I surprised everyone by getting the part of Anita, the supporting female lead, in "West Side Story". Jessica and Lauren had always managed to get the lead and supporting actress roles, and this upset their orderly arrangement. Jessica got to play Maria that year, and I had to spend my time avoiding Lauren's dirty looks and attempts to trip me backstage.

The next year, I decided to play it safe, and be the student producer. I didn't try out for a part. My mother threw such a fit about my lack of on-stage experience that the following year, when for some reason they decided to produce "Beauty and the Beast," I tried out for the part of Belle. I beat out both Lauren and Jessica, to everyone's astonishment.

This year, I was playing Carlotta in the "Phantom of the Opera." She plays the star who is replaced by Christine, the young ingénue of the Phantom. End result: my characters dies early in the production, and I just play a masked dancer at the ball and sing in the chorus. Hence the dress.

So for the Halloween party tonight, the costumes will be as follows: Alice will wear her Little Red Riding Costume; Rosalie plans to show up as Marilyn Monroe, in that white, va-va-va-voom dress from "The Seven Year Itch"; and I will go in my ball gown from "Phantom."

The Halloween party is at one of the churches, as they have room large enough space for all of us. The local parents decided years ago to stop hosting individual parties, and send the teen-agers to one party in the city, where there would be decent chaperonage. And the individual sets of parents wouldn't have to watch their own liquor cabinets, I'm sure.

The guys were grumbling, as that meant it would be hard to get the liquor into the punch. As usual, once the announcement of the usual church party was made, the guys quickly began to organize a second party, which they declared would more fun, as in the punch would be spiked. This year's clandestine party was going to be at the old "Dazzled by Twilight" storefront. There had been a downstairs bar, called "the Dungeon," that the guys had somehow gotten a key for. It promised to be a great setting, I had to admit.

As we would be trespassers, it made it all the more exciting. What would happen if they caught us? As the Chief's daughter, I felt sure Charlie might make an example out of me, but really. We knew the landlord, and I doubted he would do anything serious to us if we didn't break anything or make a mess.

By the time the evening rolled around, I was started to get into the concept. Alice had gotten me into my dress, and done my hair in an elaborate do that she saw from an old Harper's magazine from 1860. I felt like an idiot. Hairspray and bobby pins were not my thing. At least I convinced her to go light on the makeup.

At the appointed time, Rose came by in her car, as it had the most optimum seating. My truck would only seat two comfortably, and I would not be able to get into Alice's little Honda in that hooped skirt. After we were settled in, we set off for the party.

In the car, on the way to the church party, Alice and I asked for updates on the plans. Rose, of course, had all the latest on the boy's doings. Her date was Tyler. It was Tyler, Mike Newton and a few of the other guys had been sneaking into the property after dark all week to get things set up. Almost the entire block was vacant, and the town pretty much shut down after dark. The guys' cars at the location could be attributed to after school activities, as the high school was only a block or so away.

Tyler told her they had managed to get the power on and they had set up a dance floor. I suspected that the real reason for the power was to keep the beer cold, but I kept silent and let Rose talk. It was better to have real lights rather than candles since we would be in a basement, after all.

As we arrived at the church party, we got the usual hugs and admiring ooh's and ahh's over our costumes. After the standard amount of time spent mingling, dancing and admiring everyone else's costumes at the church party, it was time to move on. Tyler and Mike made the announcement they were leaving, as they wanted to get up early to go hunting the next morning. The male chaperones all nodded, they knew about the guy's enthusiasm for these things. They also figured something was up, but Halloween was a night for hijinks after all.

We finally made it to the second party at the Dungeon. We were met by Eric in a cheesy werewolf costume just inside the backdoor of the property. He was working the door in the early part of the night, and Ben Cheney was to relieve him later. He wished us a "scary evening," and then we went downstairs.

It really was creepy. They had put up cobwebs and stuck gooey things on the stairs, so we were giggling and shrieking as we encountered unexpected sensations on the way down. The main room had cobwebs, creepy table cloths and corpse type material draping the room, with black and red lighting contributing to the overall spooky effect. The guys had posed scary figures around the tables, some of which I recognized as having been "borrowed" from the neighbors' yards. That wasn't going to make the neighbors happy. Tyler caught my disapproving look, and whispered quietly that they would replace them by morning. Like nothing had ever happened.

Once we had admired the set-up and gotten our drinks, we settled in, listening to some good music for a change. It couldn't be as loud as we wanted, but it was our space, no chaperones.

Suddenly, heads turned and all conversation stopped as two more guests came down the stairs. One was a tall man, dressed as a confederate soldier; the other was a huge guy, dressed like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Neither looked like local kids.

But my eyes were on the Confederate Soldier. I was sure that he was the stranger from the car earlier in the afternoon. He looked dashing, wearing a double breasted gray jacket, with a single gold star on the collar and gold trim on the sleeves, blue trousers, and a sword. He also had gloves and a kepi cap. As he came in, it seemed his eyes bored straight into me. Walking over to me, he bowed.

The guys were getting quite drunk, and my date, Mike didn't quite know how to handle the situation. He and Tyler greeted the newcomers with typical drunken tact, demanding, "So, who are you guys?"

"Just visitors," the soldier drawled his eyes still on me. "We heard this was the better party. And we brought gifts." He pulled a bottle of Jack Daniels out of a brown paper bag, and handed it to Mike with a courtly bow. The Hunchback produced a six-pack of wine-coolers and passed them to Tyler, saying, "For the ladies."

Tyler grabbed the liquor and wine coolers, and declared, "Well, you heard right. This is the better party! And these calling cards of yours just put you on the invite list. Where you guys from?"

"Elma," said the big guy. "That scene was too dull. The cops found our party set-up last night and busted it. We didn't have time to work up a new space. We tried to find you guys earlier today to get a more official invite, but decided to just follow you over here when we saw the cars leaving the church. OK to call our dates?"

At the mention of dates, the Tyler and Mike seemed relieved. They exchanged glances, and Tyler said, "Sure. Just be careful you're not seen. Wait, how did you get in?"

"The door was unlocked," said the soldier, his gaze back on me.

"Yeah, but Eric was supposed to be up there, working the door. Didn't you guys meet a werewolf up there?" asked Tyler.

The two strangers exchanged looks, and smiled. "Trust me, if we had met a werewolf, we would have noticed," the tall one said as the big guy laughed.

"The name's Hale," the tall man said, extending a gloved hand to Mike. "And this here is…"

"Quasimodo," said the big guy. "That's my handle tonight. Other days, I go by Em."

Mike and Tyler introduced themselves, and then turned to us. Alice was in her usual place, perched on her steady date Edward's lap. Quasimodo, or rather Em, couldn't take his eyes off Rosalie. Or rather, he was struggling to look at her eyes, and not at her chest. Rosalie seemed to take his gaze in stride. She tossed her head, forgetting she had put her hair into a Marilyn Monroe style do, so her blonde hair wouldn't be swinging as she tossed it. But she recovered quickly, and managed to still look regal as she acknowledged his admiring gaze as her due.

But once the soldier turned to me, I couldn't focus on anything else. His steel blue eyes held mine as he bent over my hand in a courtly kiss.

"My lady," he said. It almost looked as if he was sniffing my wrist, inhaling my scent. Weird.

I dipped into a curtsey and pulled out my fan. I looked at his gloved hands.

"I didn't wear my gloves because I didn't want to get them dirty. Now I feel quite naked," I said, as I held my open fan over my mouth. Since I was in a ballroom scene in the musical, I had looked up the language of the fan. Holding an open fan over your mouth meant you were single. But I was sure no one else would know that.

His mouth twitched slightly. "I liked feeling the warmth of your touch, though there were times when such an omission would have been quite scandalous," he said with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm rather enjoying it."

He glanced over at Mike and then back at me. "You're not here with your steady date, then?"

Startled, I wondered if he had recognized the signal I made with my fan. I stopped myself, what the hell was I doing? Flirting with a cute guy, that's all. _It's just a party, loosen up,_ I told myself. "We're friends," I said.

The smile on his face broadened, and he glanced over at Quasimodo and Marilyn Monroe, who were gazing into one another's eyes as they slow danced to a fast song. They obviously were in their own world, moving to their own beat.

"Really, where are you guys from? I thought I saw you earlier today, across the street. Was that you, stopping in front of the library?" I asked.

"Yes, well, we were looking for the party. We realized we must have gone past the old storefront, so we were going to turn around. But first…I had to get a better look," he said, leaning closer to me, pulling me closer to him.

My breathing increased and was becoming ragged. "Better look?"

"At you. I saw you standing on the corner, and it was…as if the world stopped."

I laughed, starting to push him away. "You must mean Em saw Rose, because she's the only heart-stopper around here…" I started.

I was startled by what sounded like a low growl coming from him. It stopped quickly, as if he hadn't realized he was making the noise. He pulled me closer with one hand, as the other dropped down to my knee where he started to stroke my skirt.

"No, I sensed you were there. And I've been looking for you…for a long time."

PLEASE REVIEW. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS STORY WILL HAVE TWO CHAPTERS OR THREE. IT'S JUST A SWEET LITTLE HALLOWEEN PRESENT. I WILL SEND A PREVIEW OF WHATEVER IS NEXT TO ALL REVIEWERS.


	2. Chapter 2 - Halloween Party, Part 2

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

HALLOWEEN 2012

This chapter is completely unbeta'd, as my poor beta is struggling to keep her head above water, literally, as she is dealing with Hurricane Sandy on the east coast. Please send positive thoughts to everyone in its path!

Halloween Party – Part 2

Chapter 2 – The Consequences

_"At you. I saw you standing on the corner, and it was…as if the world stopped."_

_I laughed, starting to push him away. "You must mean Em saw Rose, because she's the only heart-stopper around here…" I started._

_I was startled by what sounded like a low growl coming from him. It stopped quickly, as if he hadn't realized he was making the noise. He pulled me closer with one hand, as the other dropped down to my knee where he started to stroke my skirt._

_"No, I sensed you were there. And I've been looking for you…for a long time."_

Just breathing was getting harder for me as he leaned closer. And I must have been getting light-headed, because I could swear his eyes, which were blue a few minutes ago, were changing color. I felt a need to just melt into him, to feel his long length cover me, to feel his hands all over my body.

I started to push back, trying to break his gaze. But it was as if his eyes were hypnotizing me, drawing me to him.

I suddenly found myself, though, and managed to break that all-consuming gaze by first glancing down before I looked at the scene around me.

Alice and Edward were making out in their corner, and Mike and Tyler were passed out. Actually, all of the local guys seemed to have passed out. _Great party this would have been if the new guys hadn't come_, I thought to myself.

I felt a gloved hand under my chin, pulling my face back to him. I looked up. "Hale?" I asked, stupidly.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am. At your service."

I looked at his uniform. Or rather, I let my eyes follow my arm, which seemed to have already moved over and was touching his chest. "Umm, this is very nice," I commented, as I stroked it, trying to convince us both I was referring to the cloth and not his chest. "It seems quite…authentic?"

He glanced down at my hand with a knowing smile, covering it with his own, and then looked back up into my eyes. "Not really," he said. "My personal uniform didn't look like this exactly. It was a different shade of gray. Most uniforms hadn't made it west of the Mississippi by the point at which I was in the war. And the yellow braid…we cut it off. It only served as a target for Yankee sharp-shooters."

He was really into this, I decided.

I leaned over and touched the hilt of the sword with my other hand. "And this?" I asked. "Is it real?"

He pulled it out of the scabbard and gave it a few exploratory slashes through the air, and then sighed. "No, this is just cheap metal. Mine was real. It was part of my dress uniform."

I reached for the sword, and he handed it to me. I pulled it onto my lap without thinking. A few seconds later, he glanced down at it again. I was mortified, as I realized that I had been stroking and caressing the handle. He just grinned at me and leaned in for a kiss. I closed my eyes, and just let myself go as his lips gently brushed against mine. I was startled into opening my eyes by the sensation of his touch, as his lips felt cold, though. And once I opened my eyes, I became further distracted from his caress by the sight of his eyes.

Because they were now an odd shade of purple.

"Your eyes?" I asked, gasping, as he pulled back, seemingly puzzled by my reaction to his kiss.

"Contacts," he replied succinctly. He bent down, flicked his fingers across his eyes and looked back up at me.

Now I was staring into bright, cherry red eyes. "Those are your real eye color?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Do they frighten you?"

"No. Nothing about you frightens me…I think," I said, though I knew I wasn't thinking very clearly.

He nodded, as if he expected my response. Then he put one arm around me and pulled me onto his lap, stroking my leg while looking down at the skirt. "This dress is quite beautiful," he murmured. "Did you make it?"

"No, my mother did. It's a costume for a play, 'Phantom of the Opera'. Have you seen it?"

"I like it," he continued, ignoring my question. "All those layers of underskirts…require skill," he said, almost unconsciously.

He glanced quickly behind him, as if he heard something I didn't, and nodded. I peeked around his shoulder, and saw Em carrying Rose, whose legs were wrapped around his waist while she clung to his shoulders with both hands, towards the stairs. Em grinned at me, in a reassuring way.

"Let's take this somewhere more private," Jasper said quietly. Without even waiting for my response, he lifted me. With surprising speed, we were up the stairs and outside. The next thing I knew, I was being wrapped in a blanket and put into a car, though I barely saw him make a move.

Wow, I must have had something strong to not be able to even follow his movements. I began to wonder if they had put something in my drink.

While he was going around to the other side of the car, I freed my hands from the blanket. I pushed hard at his chest when he got into the backseat and started to lean towards me, as I struggled to open the car door on my side. I had just managed to get the door my door when Jasper, appearing quite surprised, reached across me to pull the car door closed again.

"Something wrong, love?" he purred.

"You drugged our drinks, didn't you?" I asked accusingly.

"You didn't drink anything while we were together, lovely," he reminded me, pushing my hair back around my ear, nuzzling my neck.

"Oh, that's right," I answered.

He continued nuzzling my neck, and I found his nose was startlingly cool against my skin. Also, it was very clear he was sniffing me. But then he started kissing me, small kisses, that started working their way down my throat and to the front of my chest, making me forget the odd sniffing. His lips, which appeared so soft, really did feel like stone. He must be wearing some kind of…wax make-up? How odd. But just as soon as I started to think there was something wrong, he moved back up to my face, bent over me, and kissed me on the lips. His kiss was amazing. The taste, like leather and cinnamon, soon made me forget how hard and cool his lips felt, as I closed my eyes and lost myself in the moment.

His other hand began to pull me slightly beneath him, as he positioned us so my crinoline skirt belled off toward the back of the passenger seat. Sliding his hand under my skirt, he began to sensuously stroke my legs, starting at my knees and working his way up my thighs.

"I really love that you wore this dress. It's perfect…" he said softly, his voice deep. I grabbed the back of his head with one hand, and his shoulder with the other, and held on to him for all I was worth. The back seat was cramped, and I might never see him again, but right now, this felt perfect.

He startled me by making a low rumbling noise that sounded like…a purr as I pulled him to me? What the hell? Also, somewhere, some part of me was still startled by how cold he felt. It may be a cool night, but he was cold to the touch.

I don't know how long we rode in the car, but soon I felt it come to a stop. Jasper pulled himself away, straightening my skirt in a rather practiced motion, looking at me with a smile.

"We're here," he said.

"Where's here?" I asked.

"One of the family properties. Emmett is my younger brother," he replied.

He was out of his side of the car and opening my door before I could grasp he had left the backseat. He pulled me out gently, but kept me in his arms as he went up the stairs of the porch. Glancing back at the car, I saw Em carrying Rose the same way, right behind us. Rose and Em were gazing into one another's eyes. Being practical, I could only wonder how Em hadn't tripped yet.

But my attention was drawn back to Jasper as he opened the front door. He didn't bother turning on the light, he just flashed up the stairs. Flash is the only word I can think of to describe the motion. One moment we were on the porch, the next we were on the upstairs landing. I started to try to get down, but he just smiled.

"Almost there, Princess," he said in a low voice.

In the next moment, we were in a bedroom. Here, he did turn on a lamp. Looking around the room, I saw it was decorated with framed photographs, and with flags and swords in cases. _He is really into the Civil War_, I thought to myself. The flags looked very old, as best as I could tell in the low light.

He quickly brought my attention back to himself by lowering me on the bed, then bending down over me.

My hooped skirts were making a lovely bell around me again, and I tried to remember how he had dealt with that in the car.

"Mind if I remove these," he asked politely, as if he guessed what I was thinking. "And…maybe that corset? I don't know if all of the hyper ventilating is due to my presence," he said teasingly.

I started to sit up, and realized he was already pulling off the hoop skirts. Those were three layers down, and tied around my waist…how?

"I've had some experience with hooped skirts," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Really?" I asked drily.

"Yes, really." His hands were already behind my back and had unzipped the dress, which he pulled off, and then he started removing layers to get to the corset.

Once he reached the corset, he unlaced it quickly, but seemed to decide he would remove it very slowly, as he started kissing my back and neck from behind me as he loosened the strings on the awful thing. When he finally started to actually take it off, he was kneeling behind me, with his left one arm around my waist, pulling me against him. Wearing only the chemise, I could feel his hard body, and as he pulled me onto his lap, I could feel something else that was very hard. And I was sitting on it.

This was going way too fast.

"Ummm…" I began to stutter, trying desperately to clear my head. I had met him, what, an hour ago?

He turned me around and gently lay me down. Now he was hovering above me, looking into my eyes again. And my mind was turning to mush.

I realized I was only wearing the chemise at this point. Just a light slip between us.

He reached his hand under the skirt of the chemise, and worked his way back up my thighs, seeming to explore my stockings. "Now these would have not gone all the way up to your waist, in my day," he said mischievously. He lay on one side, pulling me over with him, and started slipping my hose down. As soon as they were down to my thighs, he began to kiss the exposed skin as he slipped the stockings lower.

When he pulled them over my ankles, he remarked, "You have such dainty little ankles," and gave each one a kiss. Then he worked his way back up, and I suddenly realized as the top of his head grazed my private area, or formerly private area, since it seemed rather public at the moment, that he had managed to get my underwear off with the stockings.

I gasped in surprise and put both my hands on the top of his head, stopping him from moving any further. He took both my hands gently but firmly into one of his, looked at me, and asked, "What's wrong, love?"

"Too fast," I stammered.

"What's too fast?" he asked, moving back up so he was over me. He lay on one side, and pulled me so that I was facing him. His intense face was glorious, and his eyes were mesmerizing. He still held both my hands in one of his as he gently stroked my lips and face with his free hand.

"All of this," I said.

"We will have a lot of time to catch up, after 'all of this', don't worry," he replied. He took my each of my hands into his, put them around his waist, and pulled me closer, sliding one knee between my thighs.

After that, I gave up protesting, and let his hands and tongue explore me as I explored him.

Xxxxx

He started kissing me, and whispering, "Stay with me, lovely. Stay with me forever. That's all I want from you."

"Forever? We just met…" I said, trying to grasp what had just happened, and what he was saying.

"Yes, forever. I want you in my arms now and forever," he replied, as he moved closer and began nuzzling my face and neck. "Say yes, love."

Beginning to be engulfed in the pleasurable sensations he seemed able to elicit without much effort on my part, I panted, "Yes, I want to be with you forever."

He nuzzled my throat for another minute, and then rolled us so that he was on top of me once again, propped up on his elbows, looking down at me. "Then you will be, and I'll see you in a few days," he said.

"What? Where are you going?" I asked, puzzled.

"I'll be right here, waiting for you," he answered softly and somewhat sadly.

He finally withdrew from me, and I felt my body ache from both the pain of being stretched as well as the pain of losing contact with him. He kept one hand cupped around my sex, though, as if reluctant to leave. Tenderly, he began to nuzzle my neck again, his silky hair tickling my face, and I felt him lick my neck a few times. Suddenly, I felt a sharp bite on my neck below my ear, followed by intense pain.

I began to push and shove at him with all my strength, trying to get away, but he grabbed both my hands and held them above my head. The pain intensified, like liquid fire was pouring into my body from his bite. I heard a sucking beneath my ear, and heard him sigh a few times. He finally pulled up to look at me, and his mouth was wreathed in red. "Just a few days, and we'll be together," he said again.

I was crying from the excruciating pain, and I gasped, "What did you do to me?"

In response, he kissed my tears, and then leaned forward, reaching over my head to my hands he was still holding, and I felt the sharp pain of a bite on each wrist successively.

I suddenly heard Rose screaming from another room. "What are you doing? That hurts, you bastard!"

Jasper paused, and glanced down at me again, smiling quickly but sadly. "You'll be seeing your friend Rose when you wake up, too," he said. "I wish I could take away this pain, but we all go through it."

I was soon drowning in the fire from my wrists and neck, and I soon felt more pain below at my ankles, as if he had bitten me there as well. Just as I was becoming so immersed in the flames that I couldn't focus on anything else, I heard him say, "I'll be right here, waiting for you. And then we'll share eternity together." I felt something cool lying next to me, and realized he was holding me.

And when I woke up, he had some explaining to do!

THE END

PLEASE REVIEW. I WILL SEND AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT STORY TO ALL REVIEWERS.


	3. Chapter 3 - Going to the Show, Part 1

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

This is the second story of this project. It turned out to be a bit darker than the first, but then again…this is a Halloween anthology! Thanks for all the great feedback!

And my wonderful beta, Edwardsmate4ever, has survived Hurricane Sandy, and has graciously looked at this chapter with like, zero notice…

HALLOWEEN 2012 – SECOND STORY

Going to the show – Chapter 1

Halloween. A group date. Mike and me, Jessica and Tyler. Joy.

I only agreed because Jessica's folks wouldn't let her go to Port Angeles with "a boy like Tyler" unless that "nice Bella went too."

That's gotta make a girl feel good. To find out that other people's parents think I'm the nice one, the safe one. They must think I carry either a bull whip or a fire hose in my purse to keep Tyler off of their little girl.

At least someone like him will never look at someone like me.

And I've got Mike. Puppy-lover extraordinaire, it's true, but he does count as a steady date. I'm considered part of a couple, and more importantly, I'm not missing out on the "teen dating" experience. Lately, we've been trading hands. We haven't gotten very far, as I'm just not that into him. But…I don't want to miss out.

Tonight, the boys are planning to take Jessica and I to a horror movie, to "scare us into their loving arms," I heard Tyler whisper to Mike.

There better be popcorn, is all I can say.

So the appointed time comes, and Tyler's souped-up Taurus rolls up to my door. Mike gets out of the backseat and comes to the door. That's not good enough for Charlie Swan, of course. He stomps out onto the porch and gestures that Tyler is to come inside as well. I guess my father remembers teen-age boys.

"Good evening, Mr. Swan," Tyler says nervously as he enters the front door.

"Hello, Tyler. And it's Chief Swan, son."

"Yes, sir." Great. Dad's on a roll. I glance over at the TV table, wondering how many Vitamin Rs he's downed tonight. Doesn't look like that many, so maybe we'll be able to leave before I am completely humiliated by my overprotective cop father.

He seems to catch me counting the empty beer cans by the TV and scowls.

He gestures for the two boys to sit on the sofa. Jessica carefully takes the chair next to them.

"So, your plans for the evening?" Charlie asks, as he lowers himself into his easy chair across from the guys.

"Well, sir. We are driving to Port Angeles…" Tyler states, trying to play it cool.

"Who's driving?" Charlie asks.

"I am," states Tyler.

"How fast?" Charlie interjects.

"Um, sir?" Tyler is starting to look nervous.

"You heard me, son!"

"I will…obey the posted speed limits," states Tyler shakily.

"Gas in the car?" Charlie demands.

"Just filled it up."

"Good. Now, your plans?" Charlie asks.

I groan. We've got Cop Charlie, in full display. Charlie shoots me another look as Jessica looks like she is trying not to chew on her newly manicured nails. I notice she's also nervously tapping her foot, which is making her already short, tight skirt ride up a bit more. I gesture to her, and she tugs it down a little.

We get through our plans of having dinner at some place that the boys have a coupon for, then heading for the theater to see a movie.

"Which movie?" asks Charlie.

"Saw IV."

Charlie allows a long pause, so everyone can think about what a really awful movie this is.

"Saw IV?" he asks Tyler serenely.

"Yes, Sir. They're having a special Halloween showing, supposed to be some neat extras…" Mike says.

Charlie looks at him sternly, and then nods.

"Back by 11:00, and that's final."

That response brings a chorus of groans. "11:00? The movie starts at 8:00, so that barely allows us enough time to drive at the post speed limits!" Tyler exclaims.

One point to Tyler, I have to say.

"OK, then call me as you are leaving the theater. You have 90 minutes to return after the movie is over," Charlie states, relenting a little.

Everybody gets up, and Charlie shakes hands. He hands Mike $40. "That's for the popcorn and parking at the theater," he says.

Mike looks shaken, but takes the money. "Thank you, sir. Chief Swan."

As we get into the car, Tyler says, "Man, your Dad is tough!"

"He just cares, that's all," I say quietly, though at the moment, I would like to kill him.

We make the drive through Forks without incident, then go across the small bridge on the edge of town and head off for Port Angeles. As we pass Crescent Lake, its serene surface still blue in the setting sun, I feel a shiver from something other than just the cold. I almost feel…as if someone was watching, and spotted me. I look around, but the forest is thick, and I don't see anyone.

We got to Port Angeles in record time, despite Tyler's promises to obey the speed limit, and found our restaurant.

After the dinner, Tyler suggested just walking to the movie, as it was only a few blocks away. No reason to move the car and have to deal with finding new parking. Normally, I would have agreed. But the strange sensation I had experienced earlier had me on edge.

As we walked along, both couples hand-in-hand, the sensation of being observed returned. I felt we were being followed. The fact that people were streaming around us in full costume wasn't helping.

I kept feeling that someone was there. And sometimes he was ahead of us, other times he was behind us. But I could never get a fix on anyone's location, whoever might be following me. I tried to chalk it up to the fact that it was Halloween, but that wasn't completely chasing away my fear.

Even the others noticed. Mike asked, "Are you OK?"

I forced a smile. "Just the Halloween jitters, I guess."

Tyler didn't help; always the clown, he decided to play with my nervousness. Even though he's walking next to me, he turns suddenly, yelling, "Boo!"

I almost jumped out of my skin, even though I had been looking right at him when he did it.

The funny thing is that I thought I heard a growl behind me when I screamed. I looked around, and saw someone duck into an alley. It was just a flash, and they were gone. Maybe somebody was just walking their dog. But I didn't think so. The growl sounded much deeper, like that of a very large predator. Well, there weren't any bears in Port Angeles. Or, at least, I hoped not.

It probably meant nothing. When Mike had finished yelling at Tyler for that stupid stunt, Tyler said, "Let's just hail a cab then, OK? We've still got the money we saved on parking, and we'll use if for the taxi."

Mike responded that the theater is right there, at the end of the next block. As we walked closer, the crowd got heavier. I turned and caught someone looking at me. He was tall, with shoulder length blond hair, wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses. It was just a glance, and then he was swallowed by the crowd. But the intensity of his look, which he seemed to break when he saw me, made me think he was following us.

"Let's just get there, OK?" I finally said. I really wanted the guys to stop fighting. Jessica and I were not having any fun right now.

"Already jittery, hey guy?" Tyler said to Mike, with a smirk.

I didn't appreciate it, and Jessica quietly said something that seemed to make Tyler chill a bit. Whatever.

So we went in to the theater, and Mike bought all kinds of snacks. I suddenly remembered Charlie gave him $40 for just that purpose, and he seemed determined to spend every last dime of it at the concession counter. We each got a soda, then the four of us shared two large popcorns, plus the guys got hotdogs. Even though they just ate. Amazing.

We found seats, and the guys seemed excited that the seats were in the back row. I was on the outside, with Mike next to me, and then we had an empty seat, and finally Jessica was sitting next to Tyler. As soon as we sat down, both Jess and I found our dates' arm draped around us. We exchanged glances, and quite frankly, she looked excited. I, on the other hand, felt bored.

After watching lots of truly gory-looking previews for movies I would never choose-but I could tell interested Mike and Tyler-the horror flick finally started.

After only a few minutes, I sensed someone coming down the aisle towards us. Mike turned his head, seemingly annoyed, and then looked back at the screen.

Whoever he was, he was really tall. And he sat down…right next to me. Now Mike got pissed. He pulled me closer to him and leaned over towards me, clearly staking a claim.

But the stranger didn't seem fazed. He just stretched his really long legs in front of him and leaned back in his seat, with his fingers laced behind his head.

Then he looked over at me.

And…wow! He was really good looking. Blond hair, ruggedly handsome face. He noticed me looking, and put one foot up on the back of the seat in front of him.

Just at that moment, I saw someone else coming over from the other side. This was a huge guy, looked like a fullback from a football team or something, judging by his outline in the darkened theater. He definitely made Tyler nervous, as he almost shrank into his seat. The big guy sat down next to Tyler, then asked if he could have some popcorn. Now Tyler was getting freaked out, but I could swear I heard the blond guy on my side chuckling softly.

I didn't know what was going on, but these two dudes on either side of us were definitely up to something.

Jessica must have thought the same thing, because she leaned forward, almost falling out of her blouse, and looked at me, smiling and shaking her head.

Just at that moment, someone on the screen had something awful happen to them, resulting in a loud scream and gush of blood. Mike suddenly jumped up and said, in a choking voice, "I'm sorry, but I need to visit the Men's Room." He rushed down the aisle, with the tall guy quickly lifting his legs to let him pass by, and just as quickly, putting them back onto the chair in front of him.

So we waited for Mike to come back. And waited. Mike didn't come back. I looked over at Tyler and whispered, "You know, it's been a while…"

To which Tyler replied, "Yeah, I'd better go check on him."

As he moved in front of the big guy, I caught the guy next to me raise his eyebrows and exchange a look with the one now sitting next to Jessica.

I'd had it. "What was that?" I asked him sharply, earning myself several looks from the row ahead of us.

"He left you two ladies alone, that's all," drawled the tall blond quietly.

"This is a crowded theater. Are we in any danger in here?" I demanded, more quietly.

"That depends on the company," the blond stranger said, staring straight into my eyes.

"Well, you're not going to let anything happen to us, are you?" asked Jessica, batting her eyelids.

I could swear the big guy muttered, "Sheesh," under his breath. Then he stood up and made his way down the aisle to the exit. He moved very gracefully and surprisingly, almost silently, for someone his size.

The blond guy's arm descended around the back of my seat, taking Mike's place. But somehow, I liked having it there, instead of feeling resigned to Mike's arm.

I hesitated about leaning back into it; I mean, wouldn't that make me look like a slut? But something about the way he was looking at me made me feel that he wouldn't. So I leaned back.

"Are you enjoying this movie?" the stranger asked, startling me by having moved so close to my ear. Whatever his aftershave was, I was going to buy it by the caseload. It was heady, and I was starting to feel woozy from it.

Seeing that face up close…mesmerizing. Was he really talking to me?

"No, I kind of came with my friends. And it's a Halloween thing…you know, scary?"

I saw Jessica watching us with her mouth open. In my head, I could already hear the stories that would be passed around school tomorrow.

"Then let's go get some air," he suggested.

"I came with them, and I have to leave…" I started, and then looked into his eyes. No, I didn't have to do anything tonight. I'd been the good girl long enough. I stood up and let him take my hand. As he led me out of the row, I turned to give a wave to Jessica, whose eyes were bugging out of her head, watching me leave with the stranger.

As he led me into the lobby, I saw the big guy leaning against the bathroom door. It was almost as if he were keeping it closed. I couldn't tell, and didn't care. He smiled at me and waved, in a friendly manner.

"What about your friend?" I asked Tall Blond.

"He lives near here, so he'll find his own way home," he replied casually

As we went outside, I realized I didn't know Handsome's name. So I decided to go first. "My name's Bella," I said.

"Bella," he replied, rolling the word over his tongue like it was the finest chocolate. "How lovely, and appropriate. Italian for 'beautiful'."

"Well, actually, in my case, it's just short for 'Isabella'," I answered.

"My name is Jasper," he said, leaning over to kiss the top of my head. "And I am very pleased to finally make your acquaintance. I've been waiting quite a while."

"Waiting?" I asked.

"For you."

"But we only just met," I stated.

"I know what I'm looking for, that's all," he said, slipping his arm around my waist.

I realized we had been walking for a few minutes, and I no longer knew where I was.

"Umm, thanks for the walk, but I need to go back. We're supposed to call my Dad when the movie's over. He keeps a really strict curfew," I said, glancing around nervously as I tried to remember the route we had taken to get to wherever it was that we were.

Jasper raised an eyebrow, and then pointed to a bench by a tree on the waterfront. "Surely you have time to sit and watch the ocean for a moment or two with me?" he asked.

Of course I did. I wanted nothing more than to sit with him and watch the ocean…watch the cars go by…watch paint dry…

I shook my head. _Snap out of it. This guy is way beyond your league, what are you thinking_? I asked myself_._

So we sat. He reached over and gently picked up a lock of my hair which he began to twirl in his fingers, leaning over rather closely.

"So, where do you go to school?" I asked.

This question seemed to make him chuckle. "I move around a lot, and as a result, I've been to a surprisingly large number of schools," he said.

"And…the current one is?"

"I'd rather talk about you. Where do you go to school?" he asked.

_High-school drop-out_, I thought to myself. _If we get together, I'll have to support him for life, because he won't be able to find a job. Other than as a model for Romance Novels_… "Forks High School. It's just down the 101."

"Of course, I know where it is. We lived there for a while, a few years back. Or rather, my family did."

"Who was your friend?" I asked him, wondering where he went.

"Oh that was no friend. That was my brother Emmett. He's going to bring the car around in a few minutes to pick us up," Jasper replied.

"To take us where?" I asked, liking the sound of "us" a bit too much when he said it.

"Home," he stated simply, as he leaned over me, pulling me against him. He held me close for just a moment, then bent down and kissed me. His mouth felt cold, but then it was cold outside. Surprised by my own boldness, I reached up around his neck and pulled him closer, determined to warm up those icy cold lips. There was nothing cold about the kiss or his taste, however.

PLEASE REVIEW. I WILL SEND A PREVIEW OF THE SECOND HALF OF THIS STORY TO ALL REVIEWERS (THANKS TO MY BETA, IT'S READY.) I'M PLANNING ANOTHER COMPLETE STORY AFTER THIS ONE, SO I'LL BE POSTING THESE THROUGH 11/1 OR 11/2…DAY OF THE DEAD. GUESS THAT STILL COUNTS!

If anyone else knows of any great "seasonal" stories for Halloween (even though the whole fanfiction is devoted to vampires and werewolves), let me know…


	4. Chapter 4 - Going to the Show, Part 2

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

This is the second story of this project. It turned out to be a bit darker than the first, but then again…this is a Halloween anthology! Thanks for all the great feedback!

And my wonderful beta, Edwardsmate4ever, has survived Hurricane Sandy, and has graciously looked at this chapter with like, zero notice…

HALLOWEEN 2012 – SECOND STORY

Going to the show – Chapter 2

_"Who was your friend?" I asked Jasper, wondering where he went._

_"Oh that was no friend. That was my brother Emmett. He's going to bring the car around in a few minutes to pick us up," Jasper replied._

_"To take us where?" I asked, liking the sound of "us" a bit too much when he said it._

_"Home," he stated simply, as he leaned over me, pulling me against him. He held me close for just a moment, then bent down and kissed me. His mouth felt cold, but then it was cold outside. Surprised by my own boldness, I reached up around his neck and pulled him closer, determined to warm up those icy cold lips. There was nothing cold about the kiss or his taste, however._

He tasted like sunshine and honey, cinnamon and the way the air feels after rain. I couldn't get enough, and I kept pulling him closer, almost sliding myself onto his lap.

I felt his lips turn up in a smile, and he pulled me onto his lap, cupping one hand over my breast as he wrapped the other around my back.

Eventually I had to push back, just to get air. "Sorry," he said. "I guess I kind of forgot about breathing there for a bit."

The hand that had been on my waist now moved up to stroke my hair, while the other was busy unbuttoning my blouse and sliding inside, stroking and kneading my breast.

"Your eyes are so deep and inviting," he said softly. "I could stare into them forever."

I started to say something about his when I noticed they were a different color than I had first noticed. Was it a trick of the light? I suddenly shivered; the night breeze was picking up, and we were on the oceanfront.

"It's cold," Jasper suddenly observed. "I'm sorry; you must be getting a chill. The car is behind us."

He pointed, and I saw a car with the engine running, at the curb a discreet distance away. It was beautiful-a black Audi. "That's yours?" I said, thinking earlier he was a high school drop-out.

He smiled, "Yes, that's mine. Emmett warmed it up."

"Nice," I answered. "He's a good friend."

"No, he's a good brother, actually. But he's anxious to get home, that's all. We were just out hunting…"

"Hunting? In Port Angeles?"

"Well, in the environs. It's surprising what one can find in these cities."

"Well, we get elk inside of Forks. They hang out by the Chamber of Commerce."

Jasper threw back his head and laughed; showing almost scarily white, perfectly even teeth. "I prefer hunting carnivores, such as bears and mountain lions," he said.

I thought about that for a second, and I wasn't sure whether it was legal to hunt those animals, but kept it to myself. "Bag anything lately?" I asked lamely.

"Soon I will; I'm quite sure of it. A real prize," he answered.

I started to squirm, suddenly feeling a lot less comfortable. Suddenly, despite the cold, I felt a wave of calm. I smiled up at him, and he smiled back, looking at me thoughtfully as he stroked my hair.

"Come," he said simply, standing me up off his lap and leading me to the car.

As we walked off, I wondered if I would ever see my friends again. And I almost didn't care.

He opened the passenger door for me, as Emmett got out of the driver side. Emmett tossed Jasper the keys, saying, "See you later, bro," before walking off into the darkness.

Jasper got in on the other side, and as he put the keys into the ignition, reached for me with his other hand, pulling me closer to him. "I'm so glad I found you," he said quietly. "You just wouldn't understand how long I've been looking for you."

I tried to think of what to say. "Umm, I'm glad we met, too?" Yeah, smooth, Bella.

Jasper just smiled and kissed me again, before pulling off into the night. We drove for about an hour, first into the hills, and then off onto a dirt road. I should have been worried, but had given that up. The longer I spent with him, the less I cared about anything else. And I couldn't have met him more than a few hours ago.

Finally I asked, "Where are we going?"

"Just a hunting cabin I keep up here," Jasper answered casually.

Finally we stopped by a wretched looking shack. Jasper got out of the car and went inside, and returned with two blankets. He immediately wrapped one around me. He put his hand on my back and pointed to a spot a little ways ahead. As we walked there, I could hear the ocean nearby. I suspected we were approaching a cliff. Suddenly I was very nervous.

And almost immediately, I felt a wave of trust and calm. I glanced up to see Jasper regarding me almost clinically, and then smiling when he saw me looking at him. "Just making sure you're OK, that's all," he said simply.

We stopped at a bench cut into one of the rocks, and he set the other blanket on the rock seat. The view of the sky and ocean, framed by Sitka pines, was spectacular. I could see the almost full moon over the ocean, and hear the surf below us. The dark blue sky, which had a few ragged clouds being blown across it by the wind, gave way to the even darker blue ocean, surging below.

While we were still standing, Jasper moved behind me, enfolding me in both arms as he leaned down, nuzzling my neck. "You smell amazing," he said softly.

"Funny you would say that, as I was thinking the same thing about you in the theater," I replied.

"You know, only mates smell this good to one another," he said.

"Mates? Like British drinking buddies?" I asked confused.

He threw back his head again and laughed. "Actually, I meant soul mates. And it's a perfect night to have found one another, don't you think? Will you be mine?"

"This is kind of sudden," I said, "and I really need to call my dad. He's going to be worried." I began babbling.

"Then I'm sorry about that," said Jasper, turning me in his arms. "But I just can't think of letting you go. I want you to stay with me."

"We only just met…"

"I know what I want, and that's you," he said, lifting me so that I was the same height as he was.

His gaze was so intense it was starting to scare me.

"I feel very strongly too, but I need time. I mean, we only just met…" I repeated, feeling like a broken record.

"I've seen all I need to. I already know. You're mine and always will be," he stated.

He carried me over to the rock bench in a fluid motion, and gently lay me down on the blanket he had laid across it. Kneeling on the ground next to the bench, he took my hands in his, bent over and kissed them both. Then he kissed me and crouched over me, supporting his weight on his knees. Suddenly I felt like I was dealing with a predator, one that hunted bears and mountain lions, without a gun.

"What do you use?" I asked.

"When?" he replied, a look of curiosity flickering across his face at my question.

"What do you hunt the bears with?"

He smiled and his teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

I reached up to touch them. "You don't take a gun. You just use these, don't you?"

He nodded very slowly, a questioning look passing over his face.

"Are you going to kill me now?" I asked.

He looked startled and bent over me.

"Well…yes and no. To your old life, yes. But you'll start a new one with me, that's all," he said softly.

So I was going to die. Maybe if I played along, he would make it quick. Though, surprisingly I wasn't as afraid as I thought I would be. Something inside drew me to him, and trusted him. Even if he was a raving lunatic that was going to throw my body over the cliff when he got done with me.

"Make it quick?"

"Not my original plan, I did want you to enjoy it," he said with a roguish smile. "We have all night, after all…but if you wish."

Then he bent over me and started kissing me, quickly moving his hands under my sweater after pulling his own shirt off. I reached for him, touching his well-toned abdomen in wonder, pulling him close to me. He made short work of the rest of my clothes, and soon we both were only clad in the rather scratchy blanket. He was sitting on my thighs, and I was laying on my back with my hands on his lower abdomen, staring at him in amazement. Whatever he was-angel, demon, or raving lunatic-he was beautiful.

He leaned over me, and said, "I believe by your scent that you've never been with anyone before. Am I correct?"

Well this was embarrassing. Especially if he could tell by my scent. Maybe it was just my awkward fumbling, not knowing what to do, and staring at him as if he was the first naked man I had ever seen. Which, of course, he was.

So I went along with it. "Yes, you're the first."

His pupils seemed to widen, and I bit back a gasp as I realized that his formerly blue-ish violet eyes were now red.

"What is it?" he asked gently, running one hand between my breasts, down to slowly circle my stomach.

"Your eyes? They're red…"

"Yes, the venom dissolves the contacts."

OK, then. Snake man. Definitely weird. They would never find my body, which he was probably going to throw off that cliff. Unless he cooked and ate his victims.

"Now what is it?" he asked.

"Nothing you can answer," I replied truthfully. "I mean, what I want to ask, you can only answer with actions. And maybe…maybe, I don't want to know the answer in advance."

His eyes seemed to grow even more intense. "I never want you to fear me, and I wish I didn't have to hurt you, but it's the only way for you to be with me forever. It will only be this one time."

OK. Now that was creepy. And…I wasn't going to be thrown off the cliff. Nope. I was probably going to end up pickled in bottles or something.

"Can we just do this? The suspense is literally killing me," I said softly, trying not to cry.

"Please, don't be afraid." He lay down next to me, and pulled me so we were facing one another, and started stroking me and kissing me.

xxx

As I finally began to calm down and catch my breath, I heard him say, "I love you, my true mate, and I'll see you soon. Very soon." I felt some licking under my ear, and then suddenly I felt those teeth, so very sharp, tearing into my neck like some wild animal. The tearing was quickly followed by a burning sensation, one that seemed to be spreading through my veins like molten lava. I gasped and began to scream.

He put one hand over my mouth to stifle my screams. "Shh, shh, I know it hurts, but it will pass…" he said. I bit at his hand, but it was like chewing on stone.

I kept fighting, pushing him back, but his cold arms were like steel. I pushed and kicked with my legs, but he simply grabbed my wrists and bit them too, holding both in one hand, while he moved back down to my thighs. He bit the inside of each thigh, and moved back up to lie next to me.

"I'm sorry for this, but we all have to pass through this to get to the next existence. I don't know how long you'll be able to hear me, but I'll stay with you the entire time," he whispered.

He may have continued talking, but I started to drown in the feeling of the fire that was now racing through my veins.

It burned; I screamed until I couldn't make any more sounds. Sometimes I could feel something cool, like water or hands, but it never lasted.

After what seemed like forever, the burning started leaving my hands and feet, and moving to my center. But the burning at the center seemed to intensify, and my heart started pounding, as if it was fighting the fire, and was going to explode with the effort.

Finally the only burning left was at my heart, and I could count the beats, until finally it stopped.

Everything was silent, after all the internal screaming, pain and fire.

I opened my eyes.

At first I only saw scattered rainbows, which when I reached up my hand to touch them, turned out to be…dust in the air? And then there was my hand…which was sparkling. I turned it, gently, amazed at its perfection. It was pale, white, and shimmered in the dim light.

A motion caught my attention, and I realized I wasn't alone. I jumped back quickly, seeking the wall behind me, and saw three others in the room. One I recognized as Jasper, who was staring intently at me. Except, he was even more gorgeous than before. He smiled, seeming to recognize my feelings. I smiled back, feeling tugged towards him.

The second man in the room was Emmett, Jasper's huge brother whom I had met at the movie theater.

And the third? A tall man with blond hair, leaning elegantly against the door of the windowless room.

A few long moments passed, while I moved my gaze between the three of them, trying to get my bearings. Finally, Jasper spoke. "Bella, you remember Emmett, right?" he asked, as he moved a little closer to me.

I found myself hissing a response instead of speaking.

The three exchanged looks, and I snarled. Snarled? That felt good, actually. Jasper took another step closer, with his hands stretched out towards me, watching me carefully. "Easy, love, easy," he murmured encouraging. I shrank back a bit, but finally let him touch my arm.

He no longer felt cold or hard. He was warm, and his skin was soft and yielding. I stroked his wrist softly while he stood still. Looking up at him, I observed, "You don't feel cold anymore."

He shook his head. "You're like me now," he said softly.

And he smelled even better than before. I was suddenly overwhelmed with need for him, so I leaned in…to sniff him?

I heard a laugh from Emmett, which reminded me that we weren't alone. I whipped my head back around towards the other two, and Jasper put his arm around me, pulling me into his side.

He spoke again, directing my gaze to the third man, whom I hadn't met before. "And this is our father, for all intents and purposes. Our coven-master, Carlisle." I looked at this third man, who was appraising me. I had trouble meeting his gaze.

I narrowed my eyes, suddenly remembering how I got here. I leaned a bit closer to Jasper, as if to nuzzle him, closed my eyes…and chomped down on his upper arm. Hard.

Jasper let out a low howl, and grabbed my shoulders, and I felt Emmett's hands on either side of my head, trying to force my mouth open. I could tell Jasper was trying to talk to me, but he was struggling with pain. Emmett's huge hands somehow managed to pull me away, and I clacked my teeth at Jasper once I was free. "You bit me, and that's how I got here! See, I remember!" I yelled at him.

Then suddenly I realized he looked in pain, and was overwhelmed with concern, starting to reach for him.

Emmett laughed, "Oh, you got us a live one, bro! Damn, baby, who else you gonna bite?"

Jasper snarled and started to pull me away from Emmett. As soon as he touched me, I felt calmer, and I let him pull me close. Without biting him; at least, not that very second. There was always later.

We stood that way for a minute, while they seemed to wait for my next move. But I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Except I noticed they were blocking the door, which meant I wanted out. I lunged forward, almost tipping over Emmett, but the tall blond man, Carlisle, blocked my move and managed to shove me to the floor. Soon I had all three of them sitting on my back or thighs, with Jasper near my shoulders, petting my hair.

"Thirsty?" Jasper purred. And suddenly I was. It was as if those flames I had just escaped had reignited in my throat. "We've got something for you, baby girl," he said.

Carlisle opened the door, slipping out, and was gone for a minute. Even before he came back in, I could hear something mesmerizing from outside. It was a soft thump, thump, thump, with a swooshing sound. And it was driving me crazy, drawing me to it.

When he came into the room, I saw he had a mountain lion in his arms, which he was holding by the back and scruff of its neck. Though it was struggling, Carlisle seemed unfazed by the claws that were tearing at his arms and torso. He released it just as Emmett and Jasper got off of me.

Within an instant I was on it. I sunk my teeth into the first bit I caught, and got a mouthful of fur.

"Go for the neck, sweetheart. It's easiest there," Jasper said softly, leaning against the wall.

I growled, realizing there were others close to my meal. I dragged the big cat to a corner, hunching over it protectively while turning it around a few times looking for its neck. Once I found it, I bit. Soon a soothing fluid was spurting into my mouth. It didn't completely satisfy, but it was calming.

When there was no more blood, I turned around. The three men were leaning against the door, watching me. I stared at the third one, Carlisle. I guess we kind of knew each other now, as he had sat on my back and helped pull me off of Jasper. He seemed to notice my gaze and finally spoke.

"This is our coven…welcome to forever…" began Carlisle…

THE END.

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW. I'VE GOT ONE MORE STORY IN THE TO POST IN THE SERIES. I'LL SEND A PREVIEW TO ALL REVIEWERS.


	5. Chapter 5 - Flight - Part 1

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

My wonderful beta, Edwardsmate4ever, has taken the time from bailing out Hurricane Sandy-wracked Boston to review this, so that y'all won't be inconvenienced by my weirder expressions or oversights in plot development!

This is the third and final story of the project.

FLIGHT

Chapter 1 – The Airport

Halloween. I finally convinced my mother that I meant it; that I was really going to move to rainy Forks, Washington to live with Charlie so she would be free to travel with Phil. It took some discussion, but we worked it out. Charlie, my dad, didn't need any convincing, as he sounded genuinely happy that I wanted to move out to live with him for my senior year.

It was Renee who needed the convincing. She knew I was doing this for her, and she just couldn't imagine that I would willingly move back to the city she had fled with me when I was just an infant. But, I finally won her over, and even though it was almost two months into the fall semester, we ended up buying tickets for the trip for a Halloween flight, because that was the day we found the best fares on Expedia. Guess nobody wanted to fly that day; they wanted to be handing out candy or going to a party.

And so it was that on Halloween morning, we loaded everything I had, which wasn't much, into the car, and Phil drove us to the Phoenix airport.

We got to the airport early, because Phil wanted to make sure we got through security, etc., without any issues. Which meant we had two hours to kill before first boarding my flight to Seattle, and then a puddle-hopper to Port Angeles.

"You don't have to do this, honey. You really don't have to go," said my mother for what must have been the hundredth time.

"No, Mom, I want to. I'll spend this last year with Charlie and then head off to college. Working on getting some scholarship money, plus get a job to supplement it. It'll be great," I replied.

Phil, sitting across from us at one of the tables in the little food court, gave me the thumbs up. I smiled, and he gave me an answering nod and roll of his eyes. We'd been going through this with Renee for days. But once I got on the plane, maybe she would stop, as that meant I really intended to go through with it.

Suddenly I noticed someone at the table behind Phil, looking at me. There were actually two guys at the table. The man sitting closer to our table, with his back partially turned to us, was huge, with dark curly hair. He had his eyes trained on the football game playing on the TV in the bar next door. Probably a football player, I thought to myself.

But then I looked again at the man looking at me. And he was easy to look at. Long and lean. Sitting comfortably in the chair, despite his height, as he had his long legs stretched out in front of him. Watching me look at him, he leaned back and stretched, with both hands over his head, pulling that body taut in an agile move, then sitting back up straight. He had a small smile playing across his face.

I blushed, and caught Phil turning to see what I was looking at. He turned back to me with a smile and winked. I blushed harder.

Even Renee caught the look, and turned to see. The blond guy now had a newspaper open in front of his face, but she turned to look back at me.

"And you're getting older, honey. Soon it will be time to go to college. Are you sure you want to spend a year or two on that rainy little stretch of Highway 101?"

She already knew the answer to that question. No, I did not want to spend a year or two living in a town so small it was barely a blip as you drove along the 101. I didn't want to even spend 20 minutes in the rainy, gloomy city of Forks, where the town closed up at 10:00, and my father was the Chief of Police.

At least with Phil, I had a cool dad. The guys knew he was a baseball player, which made me OK, when I wasn't invisible. Phoenix High School had several thousand students.

Forks High's graduating class of 2012 had 48. There was no way to be invisible.

People would notice me.

I saw a motion behind us, and watched as the two guys got up and loped off. They were so graceful and quiet, despite their size. I know airports are loud, but they moved with cat-like grace. Phil watched them go as well.

"Wonder if they play ball?" he asked casually. "The one looked like he could be a football player. Probably is, or was, in high school. No coach worth his salt would let a kid like that stay off his team…"

Renee cut in. "Honey, we've got to get Bella something to eat. Really, you're skinny."

Phil and I exchanged looks. I'm the one who made sure she ate. But she would take on her mother role whenever she got worried.

We went over to the food court, and I picked out one of the overpriced turkey sandwiches to take onto the plane with me. When I got to the counter, Phil suddenly said, "Here, let me get that," as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and paid.

When we sat down, he quietly handed me a few bills, saying, "For settling in. You might need to pick up some new clothes or school supplies."

I looked down, and saw that he had handed me five twenty-dollar bills. "Really, I can't take this," I started.

But he waved at me. "I want you to pick up a few things for yourself, that's all. Maybe go out with some kids," he said.

Finally we heard the initial boarding calls for my flight. We headed for TSA Security, which was as far as Renee and Phil could accompany, said our good-byes, and then I headed to the gate and waited for my row to be called for boarding. Finally the gate attendants announced my row. After checking to make sure that my boarding pass was out, headed onto the plane.

My carry-on fit under the seat ahead of me, so I sat down, put on my earphones, and started to dial up some music. They were almost done boarding, and were just waiting for the stand-by passengers to take their seats. Two people came to stand at my row, and one of them asked if I was sure I was in the right seat.

I showed them my boarding pass, and they looked at theirs. We both had the same seat assignment. I settled back into my seat smugly. I was there first, the overbooking was their issue.

Suddenly the stewardess was leaning over me, saying, "Miss? Your seat has been upgraded to first class. Let's get you to the proper section, OK?"

I looked at my seat assignment on the boarding pass and said, "There must be a mistake."

"No, it was done at the gate. I have a seat up here for you. Let's get everyone settled so the flight can depart," she said, while I started to hear restless murmurs from my neighbors.

Sure that there was some mistake, I was reluctant to I just give up my seat and follow her to first class. But I did, to avoid a scene in coach. If there was a mistake, I would take advantage of it, for the length of the flight, anyway. I saw someone ahead of us get up as we approached first class, and I got into the new row. At least there was more room. Maybe Phil upgraded me using some of his frequent flyer miles? I could picture it, Renee wanting to do one last thing to make my flight better, then forgetting to tell me about it.

Then my seat partner sat back down. It was the tall, leonine guy from the next table in the food court. My stomach was doing backflips. I was going to be sitting next to him all the way to Seattle? Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad flight after all!

He settled in for a moment, and then looked over at me.

"Hello, my name is Jasper," he said.

And I just lost my voice, gazing into his…sunglasses. "Umm, Bella," I replied stupidly.

Someone ahead of us turned around and peeked over the seat. It was the huge guy from the food court. His eyes twinkled as he looked at me. "I'm Emmett; damned pleased to meet 'ya," he said, making me laugh. "The mystery man, here, without the manners to remove his shades is my brother."

Jasper looked in his direction, and then slowly pulled off the glasses, as if he was doing a strip tease. Whoa, how did my mind go in that direction! I started to blush, and could swear I heard a low growl.

"Your blush is lovely. I love the way it stains your face a pink and red," Jasper said, putting one of the sunglass ear stems into his mouth.

I watched how he was playing with the end of the stem with his tongue in fascination, then tried to snap myself out of it. I became aware that Jasper and Emmett were talking to each other, as I certainly wasn't contributing to the conversation.

"Dang, I'm going back there. Did you see her?"

"Sit, damn it," Jasper was whispering. When he saw I was coherent again, he gave a lazy smile. "It seems my brother, here, noticed one of the ladies walking by."

"A real bombshell, tall, blonde…do you know her?"

Jasper gave him a look, and Emmett slunk back down in his seat. I thought I heard him mumbling, "Well, they're both pretty girls, why wouldn't they know one another?"

I wondered briefly who he was talking about, but Jasper quickly got my attention.

"So, are you headed to Seattle, or are you going further?" he asked.

"Forks, Washington," I said.

That got Emmett's head popped back over the seat again. "Forks? What a coincidence…"

One look from Jasper, and he turned around and settled back in again, though as the stewardess approached, I heard him ask her for champagne and two glasses. The smiling stewardess nodded at his request and quickly returned with a bottle and two real glasses, not those clear plastic cups.

Emmett got up with a smile after she opened the bottle, and headed off towards the section of the plane where regular folks sat.

"Where's he going with that?" I whispered to Jasper, as I twisted in my seat to watch him make his way down the aisle.

Jasper smiled. "He saw someone walk down the aisle; he wants to introduce himself, that's all," he replied. "But back to what you were saying a few minutes ago. What takes you to Forks?"

"My dad, Charlie Swan. He lives there, and I'm moving back in with him."

Jasper looked at me appraisingly for a few seconds, twisting the ear stem in his mouth, before he slid the glasses into his jacket pocket.

"You've been somewhere else, away from your family at your age? Who was that with you in the airport?"

The question seemed kind of creepy, but it meant that he had noticed me, just as I thought.

"That was my mom and step-father. She remarried."

"I see. Where I come from…that was not…so usual. It still isn't, among those I live with now. When you find the right one, you never let her go," he said, stared at me so intently that I got goose bumps—whether from nervousness or excitement, I wasn't sure.

"Yeah, well, where I come from, if you make a mistake, you're allowed to fix it," I retorted.

A slow smile spread across his face. "But only if you make a mistake. And I will never allow that.." he answered, as he leaned forward, put his hand to the side of my face and stroked it.

Whoa, that was unexpected. Just then, the steward came by with the beverage cart.

"Something to drink, sir? Wine perhaps? I'll need to see I.D. if the lady wants something."

"I never drink…wine," SORRY GUYS, COULDN'T RESIST!-THE AUTHOR Jasper said, leaning back in his seat. "But maybe water or a soda?" he asked me.

"Ummm…a Diet Coke would be great. And some of those peanuts?" I asked. She smiled, and poured the soda from her cart.

Just then, Emmett returned with a stunning blond in tow. She had an exasperated smile on her face, as if whatever was going on was not her idea.

The stewardess moved her cart back, and Emmett gallantly offered the girl the window seat in his aisle.

"Oh, so the catch is, I get to sit in First Class, as long as I sit next to you? Figures it would be something like that," she said.

Jasper smiled as he watched the girl's head disappear when she sat in the seat ahead of me, and Emmett winked at us as he waited to take his seat next to her.

PLEASE REVIEW! NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST IN MY LITTLE HALLOWEEN SERIES, AND I WILL SEND A PREVIEW TO ALL REVIEWERS!


	6. Chapter 6 - Flight - Part 2

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters.

Once again, All Hail to my Amazing Beta, EdwardsMate4Ever, who took a break from helping bail out post-Hurricane-Sandy Boston with her Tupperware to review my story!

This is the third and final story of the project.

FLIGHT

Chapter 2 – Biology Lab

At this point, I decided to turn the conversation to him. Who were these guys?

"So…you lucked out, having two seats empty next to you?" I questioned.

"Not luck," he answered. "We were traveling with our parents, and at the last minute, they decided to drive. So we had the two seats, which was lucky. I was able to put you next to me, and it looks like my brother has found someone to talk to, which will keep him from interrupting us all the time."

"I heard that," Emmett said from in front of us.

"You were meant to," Jasper growled. Emmett simply gave one of his infectious laughs in response.

"It's hard to stay annoyed with him," Jasper admitted with a shake of his head, which made that shiny blond hair of his flick around his face. It looked so soft, and suddenly I found myself reaching out to touch it. I jerked my hand down, embarrassed.

He just caught my hand in his, with an amused twinkle in his eye, and held it up to his mouth, giving a kiss to the back of my hand. It was such an old-fashioned, courtly gesture. And of course, I blushed again. I noticed that his hand was very cool, and almost felt hard, though it didn't appear calloused.

He reached up and stroked my cheek, as if feeling my blush, smiling. "So beautiful, and so responsive."

Now that was kind of creepy, even if it was an attempt to be romantic.

"So, your parents. They are meeting you in Seattle?" I asked, fighting for control, even though I left my hand in his, and quite frankly began to think of other areas I would like him to touch as well.

"No, they'll meet us in Forks. He's the new doctor. We're going to drive from Seattle."

"Really? I'm going to catch a flight to Port Angeles from Seattle."

"You're flying alone?" he asked.

I looked at him, dumb-founded. "I'm flying alone on this flight…" I said slowly.

"Yes, but someone took you to the airport. No one is meeting you in Seattle?"

This was almost becoming scary. "Umm…no. I'm just going to wait for the flight to Port Angeles, and my dad will pick me up there. It's not as long a drive from Port Angeles to Forks as it is from Seattle," I stated defensively.

"We're driving. Why don't you just come with us? It will be fun…."

"I guess I could call my Dad…but my ticket's already paid for, and I don't want to be any trouble."

"No trouble and we would like the company, right, Emmett?"

Emmett's head popped up over the seat. "You're coming with us, Bella? Great! Hey, Rose! Bella is coming with us; you should just come along for the ride. Your photo shoot isn't until tomorrow…Rose is doing some modeling," he said almost proudly.

The new girl looked back over the seat at us. She looked like a bit of an ice queen, but when she smiled, she seemed OK. "Hi, I'm Rosalie, since it looks like I won't be getting a proper introduction. You're really driving to Forks with these two?" she asked me.

"It looks that way," I answered. "My Dad lives in Forks. He was going to pick me up in Port Angeles, but if they're driving to Forks, he won't have to leave work early. He's the Chief of Police there," I told her. I don't know why I stuck that in, but I thought it made me feel safer.

Emmett jumped on the tidbit about my dad being a cop enthusiastically. "What could be safer than traveling with the police chief's daughter?" he asked her. "Now you _have_ to come!"

"Yeah, and I could get him to arrest you, I'm sure. Something tells me you're up to something…"

"Not me," Emmett said, shaking his head. "I'm just talking to the love of my life. That's my right as a guy, after all!"

The two sat back down, and the rest of the flight passed in a blur. I felt like all I was doing was staring at Jasper's eyes. Which was interesting in and of itself, as they seemed to be changing as time went on. They had started out steel blue, but I swear they were turning purple as time passed. Just before we landed, he got up and went to the bathroom.

While he was in the bathroom, I made the call to Dad using that phone on the back of the seat ahead of mine. It may be an expensive call, but since Phil had just given me that cash present in the airport, I decided to use it to call him. I told him I had met these two guys on the plane who were driving to Forks, and that their father was the new doctor at the hospital. He didn't seem entirely comfortable, but I added that Rose was coming with us. I argued that this way, he wouldn't have to leave work early.

Finally, he agreed, because he said there were a couple of cases he had to work on, but he would be home at 8:00. He wanted me to call him as soon as I got home. And, of course, told me that the spare key was on top of the door ledge, just as it always had been.

Just as I was hanging up with Charlie, I saw Jasper coming back out of the restroom. As he reached Emmett's aisle, I watched as he picked up the phone in front of his brother's seat, and made a phone call himself, speaking quietly, and then nodding to Emmett. I noticed as he sat back down that his eyes were steel blue again.

So I asked him about his eyes after he finished buckling his seat belt. "Oh, I needed to put in eye drops," he said. "I have odd reactions to altitude."

Well, if it was a medical condition, I guess I could understand that. I suppose.

When we landed, Jasper got up and blocked the other passengers from barreling down the aisle by standing in it and waiting for the three of us to get our bags down. Rose had brought more than her fair share on board, but I'm sure she was used to getting away with a lot by flashing one of those smiles.

We went to baggage claim, where I picked up my one battered-looking bag, and Emmett grabbed Rose's three full suitcases. Jasper took one look at the load and got us a cart. Emmett started to say he could handle it, but Jasper gave him a look. Emmett shrugged, loaded Rose's matching luggage onto the cart, and cheerfully pushed it toward what I thought would be the rental car area.

Instead, Jasper turned and walked us to a man holding a sign that said, "Smith."

The man handed Jasper a large brown envelope, and Jasper and Emmett spoke with him quietly, then they shook hands.

We went outside to the parking structure, where Jasper pulled out a key fob and clicked it. We heard an answering beep, and they directed us to a black SUV parked against a wall.

"No rental car?"

"No. Dad had worked something out for us, and left a car here to drive out. That was the gentleman from the dealership, giving us the keys. I was just confirming with him earlier that we were arriving on that flight as agreed."

The car was nice. Leather interior, a dashboard that looked as though it could double as a control panel to guide the space shuttle. Lots of bells and whistles. Boys and their toys, I thought to myself.

We drove north from the airport, boarding the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, watching the sun set over the hills as we drove past Lake Crescent. Rose hadn't been to the Olympic Peninsula before, so she was oo-ing and ahh-ing over the forest, commenting on how spooky it looked on Halloween night.

As we approached Forks, Jasper and Emmett began talking about how they didn't like that we had missed Halloween.

"It's OK. After all, it's mostly a kids' holiday," I said.

As we pulled into Forks, which was now quite dark, Jasper said he would drive us around town. Charlie would be working until 8:00, so we would get something to eat after a little exploring. He suggested we drive by the new high school.

It didn't take long to get to the High School, after we passed a few stores and restaurants decorated for Halloween with jack-o-lanterns and spooks in the windows. While there weren't many people out on the sidewalks, we did pass a few kids dressed in spook costumes carrying trick-or-treat bags, running down the street, laughing as they went.

Once we reached the school, he parked the car and got out. Bypassing the enormous glass doors in the front, he pulled the handle to a smaller side door on the side, and to our surprise, it opened. "They don't always lock these," he said. "Small town, you know? Kind of nice. Come on in."

Rose indicated by a look that she had no interest in exploring a high school, so Emmett to Jasper, "I'm going to take her out for a bite-you know, find something to eat?"

I could swear Jasper snickered, but he said we would join them at the Italian place on the south end of town after we checked out the high school. It wasn't far, and we would just walk over when we were done looking around.

Emmett took the car, and as they left, I heard Rose saying something to Emmett about Italian food, and Emmett replying, "They have a salad bar, they advertise it. You don't have to order pasta."

Jasper smiled to me, and said, "Alone at last."

I shivered involuntarily, and glanced down at my feet. Yeah, alone, and in a deserted high school. So romantic.

He reached for my hand, and guided me down the halls. Though it was dark, he seemed to have no trouble finding his way. I was just struggling to keep my breathing under control, as the anticipation of being in a dark building with this guy was sending shivers up and down my spine. Those shivers all came to rest somewhere below my stomach, and I was starting to tingle with desire, in a steady burn that was moving from my abdomen down to my knees, almost making me wobbly.

His head suddenly snapped in my direction, as he sniffed the air. "Your scent is wonderful, you know," he remarked. I blushed, wondering which perfume I had put on that day.

Finally he paused in front of one of the classrooms, pulling me closer to him. "This looks interesting," he murmured. He opened the door and led me in. Bending down at the front of the room, he switched on a small lamp, one that turned out to be on a teacher's desk. Turning around, I saw that we were in a science classroom, filled with laboratory tables. I noticed Jasper looking around at the walls, as if he could make out details on the various posters which were only shadows to me.

"Looks like we're in Biology Laboratory," he said. "This way, our table awaits," he gestured, putting his hand on the small of my back and leading me to a table near the back of the room. There was still just a little light back here, just enough for me to make out a stuffed owl on a shelf by the window. It looked spooky; a white owl with its wings outstretched as if about to take flight.

At the table itself, there were tall wheeled stools. I climbed onto one, holding onto the lab table, testing how the stool rolled, thinking to myself that wheeled stools weren't optimal seating for the uncoordinated, while Jasper quickly moved around the windows, lowering the shades. "That's better," he said, returning to the table, seating himself easily on the other stool. After he sat down, he reached out and pulled my stool towards him, brushing my thighs with his hands as he pulled the rolling stool closer.

He looked at me expectantly, then reached out and touched my face, exploring its planes with his fingertips. His cool touch was gentle, as if he felt I was fragile. He leaned in and nuzzled around my neck, then, with a swift movement, pulled me onto his lap.

My stomach did flip-flops, both at the speed of his movement, and at finding myself being held against his chest.

He kept his hands around my waist, and nuzzled my neck just below my ear, while he asked, "Would you like to hear a spooky story, in honor of Halloween?"

I laughed nervously, and said, "Sure."

"All right. Once upon a time, in the 1840's, there was a boy. He grew up on a small farm outside of Houston, Texas. He worked hard, loved horses, loved his family, and loved his country. When he was in his teens, he started hearing stories about a war between the North and the South, and listened in horror to the details as the War of Northern Aggression broke out against his people. At 17, he decided to run away and join the Confederate Army."

At this point, one of his hands, which had been playing with the waistband of my jeans, slipped under my sweater and blouse, and started stroking my stomach.

"He became the youngest Major in the Confederate Army."

Meanwhile, his hand had worked its way up to my bra cup, which he lifted to caress my left breast.

"But one night, while evacuating a column of women and children near Galveston, he ran into…nightwalkers. Creatures who fed on humans."

This really was a scary story, but I was more focused on his hands, as I turned and started kissing his chin, while my left hand slid between his legs. I was no inexperienced child, as I'd been with a few guys, but nothing that lasted. I knew my way around a man's body, and how to make them happy.

"With their poisonous bite," he continued, his voice getting raspy as my hand found its target, "they turned him into one of them, a soulless monster, and he has been wandering the earth ever since, lonely, looking for something. He didn't know what."

He interrupted his story to reach under my sweater and unhook my bra, then leaned over and pulled me into a deep kiss. The taste of his cool lips and mouth was amazing; cinnamon, honey and leather, all mixed together, sweet yet male, and I thought I could never get enough.

"And who was that boy?" I asked. I guessed what his answer would be, and I was right.

"Me," he answered.

"So you've been wandering the earth for 150 years?" I asked, unzipping his jeans and trying to work my hand inside.

He moaned in response to my touch. "Yes, looking for you," he said.

"And now you've found what you're looking for…in a high school biology lab?" I asked.

He chuckled, pulling my hand from his jeans to wrap it around his neck, where he joined it with my other hand, so that I was holding on to him behind his shoulders.

"No, I found you in Phoenix, when I was out hunting. I caught just the hint of your scent near a road, and had to track for several nights before I found your house. Finally it lead to a little tan brick house with white window panes, and a large saguaro cactus in front."

I froze and started to go cold inside. He was describing Renee and Phil's house in Phoenix. He kissed my neck again, and stood up, lifting me and wrapping my legs around his waist in one smooth movement. He moved so we were leaning against a wall, my back to the wall, his hand under my butt, stroking me through my jean skirt.

His gaze was direct, and it seemed to me that he could feel my fear.

"I found the house just as the sun was coming up. I could hear three sets of heartbeats inside, and I was sure one belonged to the one I wanted. A man came outside with a bag, which he put into the trunk of a car. He was soon followed by two women, one of which was you. The sight of you at last, after all the time spent wandering, was amazing. You were wearing a little white eyelet top and a denim skirt, carrying a sweater, and your long brown hair was being lifted by the breeze. And that morning breeze brought your scent straight to me."

He paused, inhaling, as if recreating the memory. Then with a quick, neat move, he had my denim skirt around my waist, and his hand was under my underwear, caressing my sex, slipping a finger between my folds.

"I followed your car to the airport, running alongside the road, as the light was still dim enough to hide me. Once at the airport, I made sure I stayed close, listening to your mother discuss your travel plans. You were flying to Seattle, and then to Port Angeles on your way to Charlie's house at Forks."

However unnerved I was, listening to his story of how he seemed to have tracked and followed me, I was moaning in response to his touch. I felt and heard him snap the band of my underpants in two, and they seemed to be gone. He was now holding me up with one hand, while he worked on his own clothes. I held onto his shoulders as tight as I could, gasping and nipping at his chest and neck. He alternately seemed to be growling and purring, but, however weird that might be, I couldn't care right now.

Soon I felt him at my entrance, and I just moaned, "Yes, please."

"You want me?" he asked quietly.

"Hurry, please!" was all I could rasp out.

xxxxxxx

"That was amazing," I whispered.

"It was, and I'm not ready for it to end. I want you with me, now and forever," he whispered, pushing a damp lock of hair off of my face.

I shuddered and bit my lip, thinking of what a mess I must look right now. He still looked amazing, no sweat. His eyes blazed into mine, as he touched my lips with his gently, but asked urgently, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I mean…this is amazing, that's all."

He lowered me to my feet, and pulled my denim skirt back down over my hips before pulling up and zipping his own jeans.

"But I need to go now. Charlie, my dad, should be home soon," I continued. He stiffened and his gaze seemed to turn predatory. "I need to go home, or he'll be worried," I stated.

"Your home is with me, now, lovely," he said softly, as he pulled me close to him, nuzzling my neck, making little circles with his tongue under my ear. I moaned, but forced myself to focus. After all, Charlie would be worried, and I no longer had any idea of what time it was.

"I'll introduce…" I began, when suddenly I felt something sharp break my skin. He had bitten me!

I started to push back, but his arms, formerly so gentle, held me against him like iron bands. I started pushing at his face with one hand, and punching him with the other, but he simply grabbed both my hands in one of his, and stroked my hair with the other, which he was using to hold me in place.

I started to feel a terrible burn right at the place he had bitten me. I began to remember what he said about the monster's poisonous bite, and I gasped out, amid my tears, "What are you doing?"

He finally pulled away from my neck and looked at me, touching our foreheads together as he had done a short while before. But this time, I saw his mouth was rimmed in red, rimmed with my red blood. "I'm making you mine. You're going to stay with me and be my love, forever," he said. He lifted one of my wrists to his mouth and bit down. I started screaming, both for help and in pain, and he quickly covered my mouth with one of his hands, laying me back on the black laboratory table top.

"Shhh, it's too late for them to come now. It will hurt, but the flames will pass, and we'll be together, just like we are meant to be."

He bit my other wrist, and then pulled each foot up in quick succession to bite both ankles. He wrapped me up in his jacket, pulled out his phone, and spoke to someone quickly, still holding me down on the table.

I was starting to disappear into the pain, as I felt the flames from each bite coursing through me, and beginning to meet in the middle so that my entire body was on fire inside. The last thing I saw was Emmett appearing next to me, and I thought I could smell a cleaning solution like bleach, as well. Jasper kept one hand over my mouth while he stroked my back with the other, hugging me against him. He looked like he would cry if he could, but he kept murmuring, "It will pass; just stay strong. I'll see you on the other side. I love you."

The last thing I remember was the feeling of being lifted and wrapped in something, then the sensation of being moved. Where we were going, and when this pain would end, I didn't know, as I succumbed to the flames that were burning me from the inside out.

THE END.

PLEASE REVIEW! THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME TRYING OUT A PROJECT LIKE THIS, AND I HAVE REALLY APPRECIATED THE GREAT FEEDBACK I RECEIVED OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS! THANKS FOR SPENDING HALLOWEEN WITH ME!


	7. Chapter 7 - Christmas update of Story 1

Hey guys!

I don't know if I put this in my original posting, but the reason I wrote my Halloween stories was because I saw a Halloween collaboration, but was too late to join. So I decided to post my own Halloween project.

Chapter removed.


	8. Chapter 8 - One-shot now posted!

Notice of Posting of Update to the first Halloween story – "the Halloween Party."

Chapter removed.


	9. Chapter 9 -Halloween Party-X-mas Day!

**A/N**

Halloween – Story 1 update – Christmas Eve

_Stephenie Meyer owns all. I'm just playing with the characters._

It was almost Christmas. I was still adjusting to my new life with Jasper. Not quite two months since Halloween, when I was changed after meeting him at Tyler and Mike's Halloween party.

That had been a wild wake-up. I had only met Jasper a few hours before he changed me, so I had no warning of what was to come. Days passed after he bit me, hours I could not understand, burning in agony. Then waking up and looking into Jasper's worried face. I remembered him, barely. But I immediately felt myself drawn to him, and threw myself into his arms. A little too forcefully, Emmett and a blond vampire had to pull me off. And with my newborn strength, that hadn't been easy.

Jasper had then introduced me to Carlisle and Esme, who had formed the coven and acted as their leaders, and their friends from Denali, Alaska, who had come to help Carlisle manage Rosalie and I during our first few months.

And now, almost seven weeks later, it was almost Christmas.

In some ways, I seemed to be having an easier time than Rosalie. From the very start, although my new thirst ruled my world, Jasper told me I had a lot of control. Rosalie needed a keeper. While this was a job Emmett was determined to undertake, with her newborn speed and strength, he was no match for her.

Carlisle's friend Eleazar and his family had stayed to help the first month. Once they realized that I was in control, Eleazar, Carlisle and Emmett worked with Rosalie, and I spent most of my time with Jasper. Eleazar's mate, Carmen, had stayed with Eleazar, while the other two girls, Tanya and Kate, had returned to Alaska after the first month. Eleazar and Carmen had left a few weeks later, satisfied that Carlisle and Esme could help Emmett with Rosalie when needed.

But I wasn't always calm or quiet as a newborn. I raged against the loss of my old life, against the fact that I did not get to say good-bye to my mother and father. But my attraction to Jasper, and my overpowering need for him, only seemed to increase by the day. It didn't offset the pain over the human life and family I had left behind, but eventually it started to ease a little.

I doubt a lot of thought was putting into the timing of our change by Jasper and Emmett, but I think they really believed that by changing both of us at the same time, we would be happier, as we were friends.

Rosalie and I spent some time staring at one another in the early weeks, trying to rediscover our friendship, but really, we had been part of a trio. Alice had been the glue that held us together as friends. Without her, we were having trouble rekindling our friendship. Our new mates didn't really mind, as that meant that we focused on them instead.

Now it was Christmas. And I was caught up, with all my newborn energy and unstable emotions, in trying to come up with a present for him. What the heck was I supposed to give him?

I had so wanted to see Charlie and Renee one last time, especially now with Christmas here. The season also made me miss my pixie-friend Alice, even if she had driven me so utterly and completely crazy sometimes. Sure, for the past year she had clung to nerdy, uber-cute Edward, but we had been friends since childhood, so I was happy for her. The two made a cute, if odd, couple.

And now I had someone of my own: the still impossibly handsome Jasper. My breath caught each time I saw him, and I could tell by the twinkle in his eye that he was aware of my feelings. Not that we tried to hide our attraction to one another often. We were together frequently, and sometimes he took me out hunting just so we could be alone and I could open up more to my feelings.

Today was Christmas Eve, and I tried to put these old thoughts out of my head as we went out to get the tree first thing in the morning. But the conversation between the others kept steering my thoughts back, as they reminisced over the circumstances that lead us to be together. I gathered from Esme that she and Carlisle had moved to Forks around Labor Day of that year, where Carlisle had taken a job at the Forks Community Hospital. Jasper and Emmett hadn't immediately joined them, as they had both slipped over the summer and were staying away until their eye color went back to gold. More likely, they were going to stay away until Carlisle trusted them to be able to control their thirst around the local population, as Forks was a small town. They had been on their way to town to visit when Jasper saw me on Halloween.

He brought Emmett with him when he came to the party to claim me, and Emmett had found his mate in Rosalie at the same party. No one in town had seen the two before, since they weren't scheduled to rejoin Carlisle and Esme until after the new year. So there was no chance they would be linked to the new doctor at Forks Community Hospital.

Jasper and Emmett took us to the Cullen house on the outskirts of town to change us. Once we were both in transition, they messed with a gas line and blew up the house, staging a scene where the police found four bodies. My heart broke all over again, as I thought about how Charlie must have been called to the scene, and gradually realized that one of those bodies was mine. Carlisle had then resigned from the hospital, saying that his nephews had been in the house during the explosion, and he and his wife needed time to grieve their loss.

Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and Esme had taken us to an old property in the center of the state, in an area that was cut off once the snow started falling. This way there wouldn't be human visitors during our newborn months, while Carlisle would be able to return to Forks if needed for any type of overwhelming medical emergency.

And here it was, December 24th. We found our tree, a beautiful 12-foot Douglas fir, and brought it back to the house. Early in the afternoon, it stared snowing. A good storm was setting in, and we heard on the radio, which was playing Christmas carols as we trimmed the tree, that the storm was really lashing at the coast, some miles to the west.

Carlisle, our new father, had been worried about managing two newborns initially, but he agreed with Jasper that my control was unusually good. As far as I was concerned, it was pretty bad. I wrecked doorknobs, sink fixtures, and oh…let's not talk about getting dressed. I wouldn't know about getting undressed, because Jasper took care of that. And he managed to shred everything on both of us getting undressed. If he dressed me…well, we seemed to end up just getting undressed again, before getting back into bed. He and Emmett both seemed to share secret grins about the joys of having newborn mates…

Esme finally took over the chore of getting me into my clothes. She would just shoo Jasper out, and patiently help me into whatever I was going to try to wear that day. We would often go through three or four outfits, as I always wanted to try to dress myself. But the fabric was so flimsy, and if I even pulled at a button, tie, or belt…everything came apart in my hands, and I was back where I started. With scraps of material in my hand, to my frustration.

But while I was frustrated by my wardrobe challenges, poor Rosalie took the problem much seriously. She was so used to looking fabulous all the time. I swear sometimes Emmett set her up to wreck her clothes. I can't tell you how many times she yelled she would NOT be leaving their room wearing only bed sheets like a toga!

I still had some memories of first meeting Jasper. How fascinated he was by my Halloween costume, which had been a 19th century ball gown, a costume my mother had made for the Phantom of the Opera. So I decided my Christmas present would be another gown, with complete hoops, corset, and all the layers. So he could unwrap me!

Esme was key to the success of this project. Since I had issues handling cloth, and still needed Jasper's help dressing, she took my measurements and ordered the dress. Once it arrived, she did the final fitting and helped me into it.

The gown was beautiful, surpassing my expectations about my choice of this first Christmas present for Jasper. The top layer was crimson velvet, and it was trimmed with gold ribbon. At some level, though, I still had lingering doubts, and voiced my thought that I looked like a Christmas ornament. Rosalie said I didn't, and when I seemed unconvinced, she just laughed and said, well, this was one ornament Jasper would have fun "undecorating"!

We had begun to decorate the tree shortly after bringing it in the house, but Esme had intentionally left part of the job unfinished, to set up my Christmas surprise for Jasper. At the appointed time, Esme arranged for everyone to be leaving for a hunt, just as Jasper was coming in the door with some boughs that she had asked him to cut to decorate the mantle in the living room.

I stood by the tree, and called out that I needed help with an ornament.

Being well aware of my struggles in handling things as delicate as glass ornaments, as he had been called upon several times already that day to use his gift on me as my frustration overcame me, he came quickly. Esme had arranged with the others to leave for a hunt, just as I called to Jasper for help. With a nod and smile at me, she slipped one arm around Rosalie's waist and headed out the door with Carlisle as Jasper came into the living room.

And stopped dead at the sight of me.

If I could have blushed, I would have. Under his stare, I had to drop the pretense of needing help with trimming the tree, so I dipped into a curtsey.

"Major?" I asked tentatively.

"My Lady," he exhaled softly. "You truly know how to take my breath away."

He walked over and circled me, half-admiring, half-predatory. Finally he said, "May I have this dance?"

Of course he would ask that, because I can't dance. He caught my frustration, and pulled me close. "Just close your eyes, and follow me," he whispered.

He pulled me around in a few circles under his arm, so that my skirt whooshed out, and then did a few dips, leaning over me in angles that would not have been possible if I had been human. I laughed at the feelings the movement generated. He turned me so that I could see our reflection in the picture window; me in my dress, him with his arm wrapped around my waist. Even just wearing his black jeans and black leather jacket, he looked dashing at my side. I pictured him with his dress sword at his hip, and felt myself go wobbly inside.

He smirked, and whispered, "Like what you see?" Then he turned me so I was facing him, and continued, "Because I certainly like what I'm holding."

Even through all the layers of clothing, I could feel him, and I felt my insides beginning to melt with my need for him.

I bit my lip. "How much more dancing?" I asked finally.

He laughed, and lifted me, hoop skirt and all, swinging me easily into his arms.

"Let's try something else, then," he said, smiling. In a flash we were upstairs, and he was depositing me on the floor, in a standing position, in the center of the room. I stood still, surprised he hadn't put me on the bed.

"I wanted to take another minute to enjoy the dress. These take me back…" he said.

He bent down on one knee, and lifted up my right foot. Surprised, I started to tip over, but he caught me easily. Suddenly I was glad of all the fussing Esme had done over the period shoes and stockings. He stroked down over the shoe, and then removed it, lifting my foot up to kiss my ankle.

"These are much more like the stockings of my day," he said, caressing my insole with one hand, as he began to move his other hand up my calf.

"And how would you know, Sir? Were you married?"

I had been curious about his life before me, but had never brought it up.

"I had a sister named Melissa," he replied.

"Who allowed you to peruse her undergarments?" I asked.

"Everything was dried outside on a line," he answered. "Plus, once I was an officer, there was Madame Joyeux's house, where certain ladies…enjoyed the attention of the officers," he added roguishly.

"Indeed," was my only reply.

He glanced up at my face then, stopping his hands from moving. "But there has never been anyone like you," he said, softly and seriously.

I nodded, suddenly ashamed at taking him to task when he was only answering my questions.

"Don't feel that way darlin', you're all I ever wanted. What I waited for, for over 150 years…"

His long life before meeting me still bothered me. I shook my head, trying to clear it of these anxieties.

He went back to my foot, but then suddenly straightened and picked me up, placing me in a sitting position on the bed. "Now you won't tip over," he said, as he began stroking his way up my leg.

What those skilled hands were doing was setting my insides on fire. He was slowly, languorously, working me into a frenzy. I reached down to grab his shoulders, trying to pull him up so his face was even with mine, but he pulled against my grip.

"I'm not done admiring this beautiful outfit, darlin'. Give an old geezer some time down here," he said.

"Geezer," I flung back at him, giggling.

"This geezer is going to make you scream his name in a few minutes," he replied.

He stroked to the top of the stockings, and untied the bows, then started pulling them down. He carefully set them in a neat little stack by the shoes, and went back to work around my knees.

"Petticoats. Lots of petticoats," he remarked. Yep, chemise, under petticoat, hoop, over petticoat, and finally the top layer of velvet dress. Esme had designed the layers beneath the dress to be alternating gold and red, with stitching and ribbon in the contrasting red and gold layers. This little detail seemed to enchant him.

Finally he came back up to eye-level, placed a chaste kiss on my lips, got behind me, and started working on all those buttons on the back of the dress. I craned around to look at him, and he kissed me, deeply and passionately, all the while unfastening those buttons. Soon he slid his arms up my sides, lifting them so he could pull the top dress over my head. The lower layers covered less, so he began to kiss around my neckline, pulling me under him to work his nose into the areas of my chest that the dress didn't expose, kneading my breasts gently with one hand, while his other began pulling up the over petticoat. I sighed, leaning back into his chest, arching my back.

As that came off, the corset was next. This time he nipped his way down along the edge of the corset, and I got frustrated, feeling the material separating my skin from his teeth. I started to reach behind myself to loosen the ties, but he grabbed both my hands in his.

With my newborn strength, I could have broken free easily, but I let him hold them both in his hand while he slowly began loosening the corset.

As it loosened, I remembered how, on that last night of my human life, the thing had constricted my breathing slightly, as well as my movements. As a vampire, my breathing wasn't restricted, and I was struggling not to tear it to pieces when I strained against its structure.

He pulled me into a sitting position on his lap while he finished unlacing it and pulled it away from my body, laying it on the bedside table, knocking the lamp and clock off as he did so.

The lamp hit the floor with a crash. I looked over, startled, and he caught my eye. "Never did really like that thing," he said.

But with that crash, my own patience was at an end, and I turned, flipping him on his back, and climbed on top of him, pinning his hands over his head. I started kissing his forehead, and working my way down to his chin before he began to recover from his surprise at my bold move.

He laughed, and after a few attempts to pull my hands out of my grip, relaxed. "Eager?" he asked.

"Way past. Newborn, remember?" I added. They had all used that as an excuse for anything the past few weeks, but I never had. Now I decided to turn it around and use it myself.

After ripping his shirt open with my teeth, I transferred both of his hands to one of mine, and then began to remove what was left of his shirt with my free hand.

Moving to his belt, I unbuckled it successfully, but then shredded the belt loops when I pulled it off too quickly.

"Ow," he replied.

"Get over it," I said, then felt a sharp sting of remorse. Had I really hurt him? "Sorry," I added, releasing his hands.

Which he instantly had at my shoulders, flipping us so he was on top, smiling down at me.

"I didn't really hurt you, did I?" I asked him accusingly.

He shook his head, his blond hair flipping with his motion, smirking at me. "No, but you released me, and that's what I wanted. Let me lead, please…I wasn't done with this outfit."

So I gave up control and let him lead. He removed the remaining layers of petticoats more quickly, until we were down to the chemise.

Xxxx

We lay in silence for a moment, gazing at one another, until I suddenly heard movements from outside.

"What? Why? I asked them to give us some time…" I muttered.

I felt Jasper freeze. "Something's wrong," he said quietly.

He leapt from bed and grabbed his jeans, pulling them on quickly, then threw on his jacket. I got up and pulled the t-shirt and jeans on that I had been wearing before Esme helped me into the dress.

Esme came in, quietly. She turned to me, nodding and gauging my response to the interruption, before smiling at us.

I already knew that Emmett had gone to town to pick up something last minute. The guys kept complaining that Rose and I got into everything, so their presents had to be left off premises.

Esme had taken Carlisle and Rose out to hunt, to give Jasper and I some privacy. Now she told us that while they were on their hunt, Carlisle got a page. He reviewed it and sighed, telling her he had to go, as there had been a bad accident on the 101 due to the snow. Carlisle had told the hospital's Chief of Staff that if they were overwhelmed they could call him.

While Esme was telling us this, Jasper got a text. He pulled it out, read it, did a double take, pursed his lips and told us he needed to go.

"What, what is it?" I asked anxiously.

"Emmett needs help," was all he said.

"I'm coming," I said, looking around for shoes and a coat.

"No, just me. We can't risk you being seen," he added. He handed the phone to Esme, telling her quietly, "Call Eleazar."

Eleazar? What the heck had happened? Esme shook her head, and then called Denali. She didn't say much, she just said that we would be visiting them for a while and would arrive in the morning. Rosalie and I looked at one another. What had changed? Esme shook her head, and said, "Wait here with me. Emmett and Jasper will be back shortly."

Finally, I heard them coming. It only took a few seconds before I realized exactly what sound was being blown to me on the wind: screaming. I shielded my ears, as it brought back painful memories of my own recent change. Suddenly, I froze, seeking Rosalie's eyes, as I recognized one of the voices.

"Alice!" Rose and I looked at one another.

Esme grabbed both our hands in hers, pulling us close. She bit her lip, and then said softly, "The accident Carlisle was paged to? Alice and Edward's car was knocked off of a cliff…Emmett got there and got them out…he's bringing them with him."

Rose and I got up and rushed to the door. Neither of us trusted our control enough to go outside, but we wanted to see Alice.

Esme came up behind us, putting her hands on our shoulders in a comforting gesture. She paused, looking at us again, before continuing. "When Emmett found your friends, they were dying. Their car had gone over the rocky cliff, and they were trapped inside. Alice had loosened her seatbelt and climbed over to lie with Edward, who had been knocked out immediately. They were both unconscious when Emmett found them, and he bit them. They're undergoing the change as we speak…"

I was by turns exhilarated and horrified. Poor Alice! Then…Alice would be with me! From the look on Rosalie's face, I could tell she shared my feelings. Grief and excitement mingled with pity, knowing the pain that was only beginning for both of them.

But soon, we would be joined by both Alice and Edward. Yep, it was going to be a Newborn Christmas!

PLEASE REVIEW, SHOW ME SOME CHRISTMAS LOVE!

I had planned for any future updates to this story to be part of breath-of-twilight's various collaborations, if she undertakes another one of these projects in the future. I'm trying to come up with a New Year's update though, one I would post as part of this Halloween 2012 story. I'll see how it goes. Leave me a note, and let me know you found this Christmas u


	10. Chap 10 - New Year's! (1st story update)

Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and all the rest of the Twilight series concept, dang it!

I'm just playing with the characters

HALLOWEEN 2012

This story is a continuation of the first story, Halloween Party, chapters 1 and 2.

(Story 1 – The Halloween Party)

Chapter 4 - New Year's Eve

It had now been almost a week since Emmett brought home Edward and Alice. We had immediately left for Alaska, as Carlisle was not going to attempt to manage four newborns in an area that was close to humans.

Both Emmett and Jasper had pilot licenses, but Carlisle declared that Emmett should fly, as Jasper was needed to help Rose and I with our emotions while watching Alice and Edward go through the change. It was a long flight to listening to our friends screaming in agony from their transformation. It had never been clearer to me than now, watching them in such pain, that we truly didn't have tears in this new existence.

When we reached Alaska, we were met by the Denalis, consisting of the four sisters, Carmen, Irina, Tanya and Kate, and of Carmen's mate Eleazar. I remembered them from when Rose and I first woke up. They had helped the Cullens with our early days before returning home after Carlisle and Eleazar determined that we could be managed by the Cullens without their assistance.

Everyone got a shock when Edward woke up, though. He immediately started complaining about all of the voices, and shot out of the room, knocking a hole in the wall near the doorway as he moved to avoid Emmett. It turned out he was much faster than even the standard newborn.

Carlisle lured him back with some deer Eleazar had corralled in the area, and then Jasper knocked him out for a while with feelings of fatigue. But trying to hold him down that way wore out Jasper, and Carlisle soon had to use that only in emergencies.

While Edward was laid low that first day, though, Eleazar and Carlisle were able to determine that he was actually hearing our thoughts.

"Amazing," said Carlisle, who was firmly planted on Edward's chest, holding him to the floor, "though very difficult for him."

"Yes, so far, the only other mindreader I am aware of is Aro. Yet Edward seems to be managing this without actually being in contact with any of his subjects, unlike Aro," mused Eleazar from his perch on Edward's left knee, as he held down both of Edward's feet.

"Which must be very difficult for him, as he's being bombarded with all our thoughts, including Alice's and the two girls," replied Carlisle.

Alice's awakening was much less dramatic. Once she focused on the other people in the room, and not the various dust spots floating in front of her, she recognized Rose and I, and began screaming in excitement, launching herself at us. Emmett caught her before she could reach us, realizing she would have pushed all three of us through the wall. We caught her up as best we could, explaining the circumstances leading to her change, and eventually Edward was lured back to the house with the promise of getting to see Alice if he would slow down a little.

He still made a hole in the wall, going for her. But their equally-matched newborn strength meant that they didn't hurt one another as they quickly reacquainted themselves. Initially, they just held one another's faces, staring as if they could never stop. Eventually their hands began to roam, and we gave them some privacy, as long as they stayed in the room. That didn't last, as they broke down three of the walls in quick succession, which sent Emmett into hysterics. Privacy was not possible when the happy couple kept barreling through the walls or down the staircase as they had broken down yet another door.

As Alice began to get her bearings in her new world, she also seemed to gain control quickly, and she seemed to be able to focus on helping Edward. It was clear that the teenage sweethearts really were soul mates. We had hoped they would be, but apparently that isn't always how it works with vampires. Once changed, some couples learn they are mated to someone else. Sometimes they stay together until they find their mates, but just because they were human lovers or spouses does not guarantee they will be vampire mates.

"Humans are capable of 'settling' for someone," explained Carlisle. "They still need to reproduce, so if they don't find that perfect someone, that soul mate, they will make do with whoever they are with. Vampires have just one person. And they may never meet that special someone."

"Or just wait a long time," said Jasper softly, nuzzling my hair. "I waited over 150 years for you," he told me. He'd told me that before, but he seemed to like telling me. "I guess I was kind of in a hurry to make up for lost time, that October night we met."

I smiled, loving to hear it all over again. My memories of that last night of my human life, of seeing Jasper briefly on the street before meeting him at Mike and Tyler's clandestine party, were starting to fade from my mind. But not from his, apparently.

"Maybe I should have given you more time…" he began.

"No. I wanted to be with you, that much I still remember. And now…I am," I replied softly. "Any longer in that life…I felt so plain next to you…I still do…"

"There is nothing plain about you to my eyes," he said gruffly, pulling me close against his chest.

But then Alice startled us by telling us that Edward was about to run again, and which direction he would go. She always seemed to know before he made his move, much to Edward's annoyance. He would flash her a look each time, but she just stuck her tongue out at him. Just as she had when they were both still human.

Eventually Esme insisted that Carlisle and Eleazar pay attention to what Alice was saying, as she seemed to be right all the time. "Maybe you two should consider that this girl has a gift as well. Not just the boy?" she chided them gently.

Carlisle grimaced, reaching for her hand, and kissing the back of it gallantly. "You're correct, my love. Of course I've been paying too much attention to the puzzle in front of me, and not the other."

Eleazar and Carlisle ended up taking charge of Edward, because of his speed. As they were older, and had learned to control their thoughts to some extent during their years as courtiers in Volterra, they were able to keep Edward out of their heads.

But Edward still bounced around a lot, even after several days, keeping everyone on their toes.

Alice was much quieter on the whole. Though she liked spending time with Edward, he was just too wound up and angry, frustrated with being torn from his old life, and tormented by the voices in his head that now marked his new existence. So Tanya spent a lot of time with Alice, while Irina, Carmen and Kate visited with Esme, Rosalie and myself. I knew they were keeping an eye on us, but it felt more and more like an extended girls' night out. And sometimes Edward would stop running and just drop, drained by all the emotions, and the boys would bring him home for a while so we could all be together.

Jasper scarcely left my side. As the end of December approached, I finally decided to ask Jasper. "So what do vampires do on New Year's?"

"We don't really celebrate it, as we live so long, the human concept of years becomes…kind of meaningless to us."

"I've got plans," announced Edward as he walked in on New Year's Eve with his arm around Alice. They were now only four days old, which made Rose and I feel quite mature.

"You do?" asked Emmett. "Please share!"

Edward looked down at Alice. "We're going to celebrate New Year's on a different mountain peak, each hour of the day. It'll be midnight somewhere!"

"Just like the Jimmy Buffett song, 'It's 5:00 somewhere'," exclaimed Emmett. "I love it," he said, looking at Rose suggestively.

"Well, we won't want or need company…" Edward said, looking down at Alice, who giggled.

"Sorry, kids, but you're getting us whether you want us or not," said Carlisle firmly.

"But it is a holiday, so maybe we could all go out together, to watch the auroras…" suggested Esme.

That got some appreciative nods, and we all headed outside together. We weren't worried about Edward's speed as long as he was determined to take Alice with him, until he pulled her onto his back and shot off for the nearest mountain, her excited squeals ringing in our ears.

As Carlisle started to bolt after them, Esme grabbed his arm. "We could just circle the mountain. We know where they're headed, we don't have to cut them off. Let's just see if they do as they planned."

Carlisle looked dubious, but Eleazar said quietly, "We could certainly try it." He reached out his hand for Carmen as he shot a meaningful glance at Esme. Sighing, Carlisle took both Esme's hands in his, then released one hand after a moment so that they stood side-by-side with Eleazar, and the two couples sped off into the night, splitting to circle the mountain Edward had shot towards. Irina and Tanya glanced at Jasper and I, then nodded and took off after the two couples.

That left Kate, Rose and Emmett with Jasper and I. Kate quickly bounded to the top of the house and lay back on the roof. After watching the lights shimmer and slide above us, Jasper began to regale me with tales about the aurora borealis. "Did you know that there is an Eskimo tale that the northern lights are spirits playing kick ball in the sky with a walrus skull?" he asked.

"No, you just made that up!" I reply, punching his chest lightly.

"It's true," called out Kate from her viewing spot on top of the house. "They also say that the ribbons of lights are the flaming torches carried by the departed, who are guiding travelers to the afterlife."

That image gave me the shivers**.** This was my afterlife – and Jasper's golden hair my beacon to follow.

"What was that?" he asked softly, nuzzling my hair. "You had…a truly odd cocktail of emotions just then…"

"I was thinking of what acts as my beacon," I replied, grabbing for a lock of his hair. He pulled his head back, pulling the strand tight in my hand. I curled it around my fingers, matching its waves to those shimmering over our heads in the sky.

"You were looking at this?" Jasper teased quietly, shaking his hair.

"Maybe," I thought, remembering what we had been doing just before he changed me that Halloween night.

He grinned. "I don't think you're thinking about my hair now, are you, pretty darlin'?"

"I am thinking of you, like a…package. My package," I retorted.

"All yours," he said, "for all time."

I snuggled up against him, leaning back as we watched the auroras spin their ribbon-like magic lights above our head, bringing in my first New Year of this new life.

THANKS FOR READING. HAPPY 2013! ANY FUTURE UPDATES WILL BE POSTED AS PART OF ONE OF BREATH-OF-TWILIGHT'S COLLABORATIONS (I HOPE), BUT WILL EVENTUALLY BE RE-POSTED HERE AFTER THE SPECIFIED TIME HAS PASSED FOR THE PROJECT

Please leave me a note, let me know what you think!


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